Everlasting Anguish
by harrypotterlover317
Summary: This is my take on Ginny and the diary during her first year. There are a lot out there, but do give it a try. Rated T for safety.
1. Prolouge

She was walking down a damp, musty hallway. The ground was littered with rocks and bones, and she saw a huge, long, translucent roll of snake skin coiled on the floor. She kept walking, her footsteps echoing loudly, the sound ringing. The path was dimly lit, enough for her to see where she was walking. She heard a low, slithering sound which kept getting louder with every step she took. She could hear her every breath resonate through the place. A feeling of familiar derad filled her. She had walked through this hall many times, but she couldn't escape. Her feet kept moving forwards against her will until she reached a gate with snakes carved onto it. She hissed, and the snakes rearranged themselves, opening the gate. She climbed inside, clutching a plain, nondescript reddish-brown book. A part of her cringed, knowing what would happen. She saw the events happen again. She saw _his_ handsome, angelic face. She heard _his_ sweet voice mocking her. She saw herself black out as _he_ tried to drain her of her life.

Ginny woke up screaming. She took in her surroundings. _Relax Ginny_, she thought, thankful that she could cast a good 'Muffliato'. _It's not real. Not anymore. He's gone, and you're safe_. _It's been five years, and you're alive_. But Ginny knew that she wouldn't be able to escape this nightmare. A tear silently rolled down her face as her eyes stared dully ahead. Her mind, however, was whirring rapidly, thinking back to the beginning of it all.


	2. Chapter 1

Ginny rolled over in her bed and sat up. She stretched and got out of bed. The sun was shining through her window, and she felt cheerful. The smell of her mother's sausages and fried eggs wafted up to her nose, and she suddenly felt hungry. Ginny bounded down the stairs and bounced into the kitchen. She stopped suddenly though, stunned at the sight in front of her. Harry Potter - _the_ Harry Potter - was sitting in her kitchen. _Am I dreaming? There's no way that the famous Harry Potter - the hero of the Wizarding World - could be in my poor, raggedy house_. Ginny saw Harry's eyes meet her own, and she felt a thrill run up her spine at the sight of his dizzyingly bright green eyes. She let out an involuntary squeal, and then realizing that she had just squealed, ran out of the kitchen. Ginny ran up the stairs and went into her room, all hunger gone. She took deep breaths to try to calm herself. This was the first time that she saw Harry Potter after knowing that it was him, and this is how she had reacted. _What does he think of me now_, she wondered. _Why couldn't I have been calm and collected so that he would've thought highly of me? Now he'll only see me as the Ron's little sister_. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Ginny noticed Ron and Harry walk past her room, the latter taking in his surroundings. She saw his eyes land on her's again, and she couldn't help but stare back. Ginny, flustered, closed her door with a snap. _I just hope that I can gain enough confidence so that I can atleast look at him without panicking!_

Over the next week, Ginny's confidence around Harry didn't improve. Sometimes, she'd drop her utensils when Harry sat down at the kitchen table with her, and once she even knocked over a chair. One day, when Harry and Ron came down to breakfast, Ginny knocked over her entire porridge bowl. She was mortified, and hoped that Harry hadn't noticed that she was nervous.

"Letters from school," her dad said as he passed Harry and Ron their envelopes. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry - doesn't miss a trick, that man." Ginny sighed quietly in relief at the distraction. "You two've got them, too," he added, adressing Fred and George. The room was silent as everyone was reading their letters. Ginny saw Fred peer over at Harry's letter.

"You've been told to get all of Lockhart's books too! The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan - bet it's a witch," Fred said, looking over briefly at his mother. Ginny smiled.

"That lot won't come cheap," George replied with a glance at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive..." Ginny had a feeling she knew what was coming, and surely enough, she was right.

"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley worriedly. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."Ginny grimaced. She hated being the youngest. It was so frustrating, since she always got the worst things.

"Oh are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked, turning to Ginny. Ginny was happy that Harry finally noticed her and was talking to her, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. So instead, she just nodded as she accidently put her elbow in the butter dish. Percy came in, and Ginny went back to her breakfast. Her heart was fluttering a little since it was the first time Harry had talked to her directly. She heard Ron exclaim "Errol!" as he took their old owl to his perch.

"Finally - he's got Hermione's answer." Ron ripped open the letter and read it out loud.

**"**_**`Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,**_

**"**_**`I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your one off. I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course**_' - How can she be? We're on vacation!" Ron exclaimed, and then continued reading. _**'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?Let me know what's happening as soon as you can. **_

_**Love from Hermione.'"**_ Ginny scowled. Hermione sounds too concerned about Harry. I mean, both Harry and Ron are her friends, but she didn't ask once about Ron, who actually went through the trouble to get Harry. Ginny would probably have done the same thing, but she actually liked Harry. And she had heard about Hermione from Ron. Hermione just sounded like a pushy, bossy know-it-all. She probably wasn't a great beauty either, but Ginny still couldn't help but envy Hermione, who was Harry's friend while Ginny wasn't. Well, it seemed like they'd be going shopping at Diagon Alley next Wednesday. Ginny dreaded it, because she'd see other kids get good, new things while Ginny wouldn't.

The next Wednesday, Ginny found herself standing with her family and Harry in front of their fireplace. Ginny's mother took the flowerpot off the kitchen mantlepiece and looked inside.

"We're running low, Arthur," she said. "We'll have to buy some more today...Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!" Ginny saw Harry stare dumbfoundedly at her mother as she offered him the flowerpot.

"Wh-what am I supposed to do?" he asked, stammering as he did so. Ginny briefly thought that his stammering was adorable before she quickly pushed the thought away. Of course Harry wouldn't know what to do. He had grown up with Muggles. But before she could say anything, Ron piped up.

"He's never traveled by Floo powder. Sorry, Harry, I forgot."

**"**Never?" asked her dad**. **"But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"I went on the Underground —" Harry replied**, **but Mr. Weasley cut him off**.**

"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly**. **"Were there _escapators_? How exactly —"

"Not _now_, Arthur," said her mother. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before —"

"He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."Because Fred had said that, Ginny had a feeling that it was going to end badly. Fred took a bit of the powder and hurled it into the fireplace. A bright green flame appeared. Ginny noticed that the flame seemed to match Harry's eyes. Fred stepped in, yelled "Diagon Alley!", and disappeared.

**"**You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley advised Harry as George tood some powder from the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate…"

"The right what?" Harry asked nervously as the fire roared and George disappeared too.

"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly **—**"

"He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, grabbing some Floo powder too.

"But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?"Ginny hated the way that when her mother mentioned losing Harry, she seemed more concerned about having to explain to his relatives than she did about the loss of Harry himself. Ginny tried telling herself that her mother didn't really mean that, but she couldn't help thinking disdainfully that her mother could be quite oblivious sometimes in many other ways.

"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that —" Ginny winced at that. She wasn't sure if the statement about how uncaring Harry's relatives were bothered her more or the matter-of-fact way that he said it in did.

"Well… all right… you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going**." **

"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.

"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot —"

"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace —"

"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George." Ginny thought that they were rather overloading him with them trying to talk over each other and trying to pack all of this information in at once. Ginny saw Harry take a pinch of the powder, throw it in, and walk into the flames. The flames seemed to swallow him up, and Ginny saw Harry swallow a mouthful of ash. She hoped that he would be able to speak clearly.

"D-Dia-Diagon Alley," he coughed. Ginny sighed and shook her head. He didn't say it clearly enough. She hoped that he would get lucky and end up at Flourish and Blotts, or atleast somewhere nearby. She grabbed some Floo powder, said "Diagon Alley", and felt herself get sucked up into the fireplace. She felt herself spin fast, felt the cold sensation of hands slapping her, and then she fell out. Ginny stood up and saw her father and the twins.

"Where's Harry? Wasn't he supposed to come before you?"

"He didn't come out?" Ginny asked, worried. She got out of the fireplace just in time as she heard a whoosh behind her, and Ron came tumbling out, shortly followed by Mrs. Weasley.

"Where's Harry?" she asked frantically.

"He didn't come out of the grate," Ginny said grimly.

"Well then, what are we waiting for? We must go look for him. I'll go with Ginny and Arthur, you take the boys along. Come on Ginny." Mrs. Weasley dragged Ginny away.

A half an hour later, Ginny and her mom hadn't had any success. They rounded the corner and saw the rest of their family standing with Harry, a tall giant bearded man, and a girl with thick, unruly, bushy, hair. Mrs. Weasley galloped towards the group, and Ginny struggled to hold onto her hand.

"Oh, Harry — oh, my dear — you could have been anywhere —" she said as she took a cloth out of her bag and started brushing the soot off of Harry. Ginny's dad took Harry's glasses and fixed them.

"Well, gotta be off. See yer at Hogwarts!" said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley, who kept repeating, "Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!". And Hagrid strode away. Harry was walking with Ron and Hermione, and he started whispering something to them. Ginny looked at them wistfully, wishing that she could be talking with them, that she could be a part of what Harry was saying to her brother and the bushy-haired girl who also had large front teeth. As they walked into Gringotts, Ginny saw a couple standing nervously at the counter.

"But you're _Muggles_!" said her dad delightedly**. **"We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand**. **

"Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione as another Gringotts goblin led Ginny, her family, and Harry off to another vault. They went down to the Weasley vault first, and Ginny felt her stomach swoop unpleasantly as their vault was opened. Inside, there was only one Galleon and only a few silver Sickles. Ginny saw her mother reach around before putting everything into her bag, and Ginny felt more ashamed at how poor her family was. _Why does Harry have to see our vault?_ Then, they went down to Harry's vault, and Ginny was surprised at the huge piles of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. Now Harry must really think badly of us. Even though his parents died, he still has so much money, and we have so little! Ginny felt guilty for thinking that way, but as the youngest child who got the most hand-me-downs for most things, she couldn't help the bitter thoughts. She sometimes felt like they would eventually swallow her whole, but she just needed to find a way to get it out, to tell someone, anyone. After getting out of Gringotts, Percy wandered off on his own, Fred and George met their friend, and Ginny accompanied her mother, albeit bitterly. She saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk off, and she wished that atleast she could go with her own friends instead of accompanying her mother like a five-year-old.

"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, walking with Ginny following. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twins.

After buying all of Ginny's other supplies, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny met Mr. Weasley, the Grangers, the twins, and Percy and went into Flourish and Blotts, where there was a huge line of people, mostly witches, waiting for Lockhart to sign their books. About a half hour later, Ginny saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione join them in line.

"Oh, there you are, good," Mrs. Weasley said. She smoothed down her hair, saying, "we'll be able to see him in a minute." The line moved slowly, and eventually they saw Gilderoy Lockhart. Ginny did have to admit that he looked good. A short man in front of them was dancing back and forth trying to get pictures of Lockhart.

Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the _Daily Prophet _—"

"Big deal," Ron snapped, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it**. **

Gilderoy Lockhart snapped his head up. He saw Ron — and then he caught sight of Harry. He stared. Then he jumped to his feet and shouted, "It _can't _be Harry Potter?" The crowd parted, and they all looked at Harry and whispered excitedly. Lockhart grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him to the front. Ginny saw Harry's face turn a deep shade of scarlet and wondered if that's what she looked like when she blushed around Harry. The photographer clicked away madly.

"Nice big smile, Harry," Lockhart said, beaming proudly. "Together, you and I are worth the front page." He's worth the front page without you, Ginny couldn't help thinking. She was a bit angry at Lockhart for embarassing Harry when he clearly didn't want any of it. Maybe other people would like it, but she respected the fact that Harry didn't, and she wished that other people would too. Harry tried to leave, but Lockhart threw an arm around Harry and locked him in place.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he started, and the crowd quieted down. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge. He had no idea that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, _Magical Me_. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Someone thrust the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart into Harry's hands, and he stumbled to the edge of the room, where Ginny stood next to her cauldron filled with the old, tattered books that they had bought earlier today.

"You have these," Harry mumbled to her. "I'll buy my own-" Ginny was grateful. She was about to thank him, but a sneering, condensing voice cut in.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" sneered a blond boy with piercing, sharp gray eyes. "_Famous_ Harry Potter, can't even go into a _bookshop_ without making the front page." Ginny was incensed. _How dare this boy treat Harry like that?_ She suddenly found some inner strength, and she replied.

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" Ginny said indignantly. She realized that it was the first time that she had spoken in front of Harry. The blond boy now turned to her, and she felt her resolve falter slightly, but continued to glare at him.

"Potter, you've got yourself a _girlfriend!_" he drawled. Ginny blushed scarlet, and she saw Ron and Hermione come over to them.

"Oh it's you," Ron said. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley. I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for those." Ron's face contorted in anger as he dropped his books into the cauldron and lunged towards Malfoy, but Harry pulled him back.

"Ron!" Mr. Weasley said, making his way over with Fred and George."What are you doing? It's too crowded, let's go outside."

"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley," another voice butted in. The man looked like the blond boy's father with the same pale-blond hair, same cold gray eyes, and same sneer. Ginny saw the exchange between the two men and scowled when the other man, Malfoy, reached into her cauldron and inspected her old books disdainfully. Ginny watched with horror as her father attacked Malfoy, and they fought in public. Hagrid showed up and pulled the two men apart. The Malfoy man still had Ginny's book in his hands.

"Here girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you." With that, he left with his son. They left the bookshop, Ginny feeling awful. Her day and mood was ruined, and there was no one who'd understand her, who'd listen to her, really listen to what she had to say. Ginny was feeling utterly alone. When they got home, Ginny took her stuff up to her room. She sighed as she took out her books and put them into a trunk that she had for Hogwarts. Suddenly, she noticed a small, thin book with a shabby black cover. Ginny didn't remember buying the book. She turned it over. Carved into the book were the words 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'. Ginny opened the book, but it was blank. Maybe Mother decided to buy me a diary, Ginny speculated. The diary looked old like everything else, but Ginny was thrilled to finally have a diary in which to write her thoughts. She could finally pour out her pain and frustration into something. Even though she wouldn't get a response, Ginny needed something to get out all of her emotions which had been bottled up for years. She eagerly grabbed a quill pen, dipped it into ink, and wrote:

"My name is Ginny -" she had started, but she decided to cross out Ginny. It sounded too childish, and Ginny was tired of being childish and young. She wanted to sound older, more mature, even if it was only to herself. "My name is Ginerva Molly Weasley."


	3. Chapter 2

Ginny dipped her quill into her inkpot and turned back to face her diary. The sight that met her eyes made her jaw drop. She saw her words slowly sink into the page, almost as if the paper was absorbing the ink. She stared in surprise until the 'y' in Weasley faded out of sight, and then her mind suddenly bombarded her with questions. _How is this even possible? Well, I suppose it's magic, anything is possible. So is that why the diary is blank? Not because this boy named Tom decided to never write in the diary, but because it absorbed everything a person wrote?_ Before she could ask anymore questions, however, her eyes caught sight of her diary page and her mind was again in shock when she saw words, different from her own, appear on the page. Ginny did a double take as she read the words.

_**"**__**Hello Ginerva, my name is Tom. Tom Marvolo Riddle.**__**"**_ Ginny looked at the diary, wondering how its original owner was able to respond to her.

_**"How are you able to write back like this?"**_ she wrote. She saw the words soak into the page, but stared at a blank page for a couple of seconds before words appeared.

_**"**__**I was worried about people reading my secrets, so I charmed the diary to take on my personality and the pages to not leave any traces of ink behind.**__**" **__Wow_, Ginny thought. _That sounds like highly advanced magic. I've never heard of charming objects to be able to take on a person's personality. Tom must be powerful. He must be smart as well_. _But wait, if he can read and respond to whatever I write in the diary, then it's useless. I wanted to be able to vent my feelings in something that couldn't understand my secrets so that I wouldn't be judged, but writing in the diary with him in it would be like trying to talk to an actual person. I don't want to be judged or lectured. I just need to express my feelings somehow because... _Ginny paused, realizing the truth of her words. _Because I'm alone_. Ginny realized the weight of her statement, and acknowledged that. _Despite having such a large family, I have no one who can understand, truly understand what I'm going through. I'm always the youngest Weasley daughter, the littlest, the least important_, Ginny thought, her voice taking on a bitter tone at the end. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek and drop. Ginny wiped her eyes, reaching out to close the diary and put it in a corner with the rest of her discarded, old, hand-me-down items, but before she could touch the book, she saw more words appear on the page.

_**"**__**Ginerva, what's wrong?**__**"**_ Ginny was surprised that Tom had realized that she was upset until she saw that her tear had landed on the page and was sinking into it. Ginny hesitated. _I don't know if I should write back or not. But he asked me what was wrong, which is more than my own family does even when it's blatant that I'm not happy. It's like I'm invisible with my family. He showed concern, and I can't repay that concern by rudely shutting the diary closed. I'd hate it if someone did that to me. But how much should I tell him?_ Ginny poised her quill over the page and thought of what she should write. As if sensing her hesitation, Tom's neat, arched handwriting reappeared. _**"You can trust me, Ginerva. What happened?"**_ Those words seemed strengthen Ginny's resolve, and she wrote back.

_**"It wasn't really anything Tom. I was just feeling alone."**_ Ginny saw the words fade.

_**"Alone? How so?"**_ Suddenly, all of the feelings that Ginny had been feeling today came rushing at her with those three words, and she dipped her quill in ink again, writing rushedly to get those feelings out, forgetting her earlier apprehension about writing to Tom.

_**"I'm the youngest child of seven in my family. And sometimes, I feel so lost within my huge family. Besides my six older brothers making fun of me and me being the target of most of their jokes, I feel like I blend in with the furniture."**_ Ginny paused in her writing, her hand aching slightly because she had never written so much so fast. She continued._** "I always seem to get the worst of everything. Nearly everything I own is a ratty hand-me-down. I know my family is poor, but knowing that everything I own is a hand-me-down from someone else makes me feel worthless, like I'm not worthy enough to own anything new, that I'm inferior to those who owned it as something new, be it one of my older brothers or a stranger. And I've lived with this inferiority for my whole life. I know my brothers will never understand me, and the only time I talked to my mother about it, all she said was that 'we're trying'. But probably the biggest thing that bothers me is that nobody in my family treats me like an equal. I'm always 'the littlest Weasley', and even Ron, my brother who's only a year older than me, only makes fun of me. He never simply talks to me. None of my family does**_." Ginny saw the voluminous amount that she had written and cringed, hoping that Tom wouldn't think of her as a whiny brat. _Although I wouldn't blame him_. I just hope that he won't be put off too much by my complaining. Ginny waited apprehensively for his words, holding her breath.

_**"How have you been able to hold all of this pain in for so long?"**_ Ginny let out a relieved sigh. _I haven't annoyed him! Thank goodness. I don't know what I would've done if I had irritated him too. I probably would've felt that I deserved all of this because I wasn't a person that people liked and wanted around them. But I'm not, and he's just proved that_. Ginny saw more words. _**"I'm impressed with your inner strength Ginerva. You seem like a strong young lady. But you need to know that you're not alone. Not anymore. You have me, and I'll always listen to you. You can tell me whatever is on your mind. I'll always be there for you, whenever you need me." **_Ginny's heart stopped at his words and then restarted at a rapid pace. It kept racing for a few minutes before it finally, slowly, went back to beating at its original speed. She felt a foreign feeling travel through her entire body, and it took her a couple of minutes before she realized that the foreign feeling was happiness. Utter, pure happiness. With no strings attached. With a shaky hand, she wrote three final words.

_**"Thank you Tom."**_ Before she closed the diary, she saw Tom write back once more.

_**"You're always welcome, dear Ginerva."**_ Ginny felt her heart race again as her face lit up into the biggest smile she had ever remembered.

**A.N. Hey guys, it's been about a year since I've last written any fanfiction, so I may be a bit rusty. Please review! I'd love to see what you think, good or bad, and any suggestions for improvement :) **


	4. Chapter 3

Inside the diary, the piece of Tom's soul residing there was planning his next move. He had been more than shocked when he had seen the words soak into the page, and was pleasantly surprised to see a change in his surroundings after being ripped away from the rest of his soul and trapped within the confines of the journal for over fifty years with only a slight inkling of what was going on in the world around him. He was connected to the rest of the pieces of his soul by bare threads, threads that existed only because all of those pieces of soul were once parts of one whole, untarnished soul. He knew that his soul had been split seven times, had felt the pain of its ripping apart each time. It was one of the few things he could feel, for as a Horcrux, he was still brutally and unnaturally separated from the rest of his soul, and only knew few things of what had happened to him. All he knew was that he himself resided in a diary, the other parts of his soul resided in the objects of three of the Hogwarts' Founders and a snake, and that the seventh time his soul split, it was unintentional and had left him a mere shadow of who he once was. Since he was the first piece of soul to divide away from the rest, he was the biggest piece, as each subsequent piece of soul was half of the previous piece. From his perspective in the diary, he was surrounded by nothing but the smooth cream color of parchment. As the biggest piece of the soul, he had an outline of a body but nothing more, and he would need another person's help to regain his original form. Tom would need someone to pour out his heart to him, because by doing so that person would be pouring out their soul into him. That would give him the necessary strength and ability to assume a corporeal form. When Ginny's first words appeared, it was as if they were projected on a screen in front of him, and by imagining his desired response written out in his cream-colored surroundings, he was able to "write" back. _Thank goodness someone's finally written in the diary after so long_, Tom thought. _Now I can actually embark on the task of trying to come to life as a person. And I'll be able to succeed easily, since Ginerva seems to be a very emotional, lonely person. Based on what she wrote, I'm the only person she's ever dared to be so open with, and that was when she barely knew me! I should have no problem coaxing her secrets out, should not even have to struggle to have her trust me with her emotions_. _Before long, her very soul will be mine, and I'll be back to full power!_ Tom then waited for Ginny to write in the diary again. He didn't have to wait too long, because she wrote in the diary the next day.

"_**Hello Tom,**_" Ginny wrote in the diary. _Ginerva sounds better than Ginny, _Tom thought_. The name 'Ginny' sounds too childish_.

"_**Why hello, dear Ginerva**_," Tom wrote back. If he could've smirked, he would have, knowing that the girl who seemed to be isolated and unnoticed would probably be thrilled at the term of endearment. "_**How are you**_?"

"_**I'm fine. How are you?**_" Ginny wrote back eagerly.

"_**I'm doing well, thank you for asking. Anything interesting happen?**_" Tom inquired.

"_**Nothing much lately. Well, actually, about two weeks ago, Harry Potter came to stay at our house! I forgot to tell you that earlier."**_ Ginerva seems to find that exciting for some reason, so this Harry person must be important to her. She probably fancies him or something.

"_**Who is Harry Potter?**_" Tom asked to be polite.

"_**What? You don't know who Harry Potter is? He's only the hero of the Wizarding world! He survived a Killing Curse from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when he was only one. It rebounded onto the Dark Lord, and he was destroyed! My brother is so lucky to have Harry as one of his best friends,**_" Ginny responded. _That's impossible! The Killing Curse never fails. Never! And then not only did it not hit the boy, but it also rebounded and destroyed me? Me, Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard in existence? Never!_ _And all of this was done by a one-year-old? Preposterous!_

"_**Wow, Harry Potter seems heroic. He must be brave**_." Tom replied, not letting any of his inner thoughts come to the surface - literally.

"_**He is. But he's ever so shy and modest. He's probably the most famous wizard on the planet, but he's not arrogant and he never shows off. He's still ever so kind and sweet. I wish" **_Ginny trailed off and stopped writing.

"_**What do you wish, Ginerva?**_" Tom asked as if he was interested while internally retching at the way she was gushing - about his biggest enemy, no less!

"_**I wish that he would notice me**_." Ginny finished. There was a pause in her writing, but before Tom could respond with an answer that he believed would satisfy her, Ginny kept writing, eager to pour out her feelings, doubts, and insecurities to someone. "_**He's Ron's best friend, but he probably just sees me as his best friend's little sister. He doesn't see anything special in me. And why would he? I've done nothing to prove so otherwise. I get so nervous around him that I can't think straight and become unnaturally clumsy. I can barely get out a word around him, and even if I could, what would I talk to him about? How would I start a conversation with him? I barely have anything in common with him. I wish I could be a part of his little tight-knit group. There's a girl who's also Harry and Ron's best friend, and I wish I could be a part of that. But I know I never will be.**_" _Wow, she must be rather young and immature_, Tom scoffed. _Pining over a boy this way. But I should give her some "advice", just so that her confidence in me will be increased. I hate having to rely so much upon someone else for my needs, especially someone so much younger and less mature than I, but I do need her to keep confiding in me so that I can grow stronger, so I might as well accomplish this in the best way possible. And even though being a Horcrux may not be the most ideal and enjoyable, at least I won't be able to be killed. I need to focus on the task at hand_.

"_**Don't be discouraged, dear Ginerva. You are no less of a person than he is. You should never give up hope, no matter how impossible something may seem. If you want something with all of your heart, then you just have to strive for it as hard as you can, to the best of your abilities, and it will be yours.**_" _I'm not exactly lying_, Tom mused. _Whenever I want something, I set my sights on it and obtain it however I must. Maybe she'll make something of my words of wisdom_. Tom quickly backtracked, surprised at his own thoughts. _Wait, do I actually want her to take my advice? Did I just imply that I actually cared? No, I don't_, Tom decided firmly. _I don't care what happens between her and Potter, I don't care if she utterly fails in her quest and makes a fool of herself_, Tom resolved.

"_**But how should I even talk to him?**_" _Honestly, does this girl only know how to whine? She should be grateful that she's talking to me; a lesser person would've lost all patience!_

"_**Is there anything you two have in common, anything that you both like?**_" Tom asked politely.

"_**Well, I love Quidditch, and so does he**_," Ginny wrote back after a pause. "_**He is, after all, the youngest Seeker in a century. Seeker as a first-year, even though he never played Quidditch before because he lived with his awful Muggle relatives!**_" _Awful Muggle relatives? Then Harry is probably a half-blood. Just like me. This only goes to further prove my point correct about Muggles, that they are scum and deserve to be taught a lesson! This Potter boy seems to have all the luck in the world! First, he somehow made the Killing Curse rebound onto me according to what Ginny told me, which I don't think I even believe, and then he is somehow skilled enough at Quidditch to become the youngest Seeker in a century!_

"_**Then ask him if he wants to play Quidditch with you one day. Maybe you could ask your brothers to play Quidditch, and then it would be natural for you to invite Harry to play too**_."

"_**I suppose you're right, that could work. Thanks Tom! You're a great friend!**_" Tom would've smirked if he could have, would've smirked at his success in gaining her confidence more and more so quickly. Already he had progressed to being a great friend of hers. _I'm on the right path, he thought smugly. But then again, I always am. But now I also need to learn more about Harry. Maybe helping Ginerva get closer to Harry will be beneficial for me. If she's closer to Harry, she can give me more information about him. Right now, she'll probably be able to do no more than gush about him the way one would about a celebrity. Helping her get closer to Harry will not only increase her confidence in me but also give me more information about Harry. Yes, that's what I should do next_. Tom sat in his journal, looking forward eagerly to his next conversation with Ginerva Molly Weasley.


	5. Chapter 4

Ginny smiled brightly for the first time in months, surprising herself. _Wow, I'm smiling. Truly smiling. I can't remember the last time I felt this way, the last time I was so happy_. She decided to ask Fred and George if they could play Quidditch. _I'll probably have better luck asking them first instead of asking Ron. Even though he's only a year older than me, he's the person who most thinks that I'm exasperating_. She went down to breakfast with a new spring in her step. _I will talk to Harry today. I will_. She went down to breakfast and eagerly helped herself to several eggs and pieces of bacon, not conscious of the amount she was eating. However, her resolve to be confident was easier to talk herself into than it was to actually execute. Her heart had jumped in her throat and her voicebox closed at the sight of Harry's bright emerald, piercing green eyes that sparkled with life. _C'mon Ginny, what happened to all of your"'inner strength"?_ she asked herself self-mockingly. Ginny managed to look at Harry without squealing like she did the first time and curled the corners of her lips into a smile, but Harry didn't notice. _Maybe I'm not actually smiling as much as I think I am_, Ginny thought panickedly, quickly looking away so as not to seem like she was staring. _Maybe it seems like my lips are curled in an actual smile only because of the effort it's taking to overcome my nervousness. But I'll overcome it eventually. Tom's right, I shouldn't give up_. Ginny went back to her eggs and bacon. After breakfast, she approached Fred and George.

"Hey, Fred! George! Wanna play Quidditch?" Ginny asked nonchalantly, fighting to keep the hope out of her eyes and voice.

"Dear Ginny, you've got our names wrong. It's not Fred and George, we're Gred and Forge!" the twins exclaimed jokingly. Ginny rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but contrast their 'dear Ginny' to Tom's 'dear Ginerva'. She smiled secretly, silently thinking that she loved his 'dear Ginerva'. _It sounds better_, she decided._ It sounds more mature, almost royal. _But Fred and George were her brothers, so having them call her Ginerva would sound too weird_. Oh well, Ginerva is Tom's name for me. That works. It shows how Tom is different from everyone else_. She turned back to her brothers, hiding her pensive look.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you decided to change your names to, do you guys wanna play? We could maybe have Ron and Harry join us." Fred and George exchange grins and a look that only they could decipher.

"Not right now, dear sis. Right now, we're going to work on some of our...er...experiments. Maybe later," they replied cheerfully. Ginny was dejected but tried not to show it. _Oh well, we play Quidditch all the time in the summer. I'll get a chance at some point during the summer. And maybe it's better this way, waiting until I can work up the nerve to even say 'hi' to him. Then it'll actually be better_. "Oh, but we do see where you're trying to do there Gin," they added, pulling her out of her thoughts. "Nice try." Ginny rolled her eyes again, trying to hide the blush that was creeping - no, rushing to her face. Ginny went to her room, sure that her face was beet red. She caught sight of the diary on her desk, felt a rush of thankfulness that she had the diary. She remembered her conversation with Tom yesterday, noting that it was one of the most liberating conversations she'd had with anyone since she was younger, when she blurted out whatever was on her mind. She didn't do that with anyone anymore. Well, except for yesterday with Tom, when I told him how I felt about Harry. As she thought of their earlier conversation, she remembered that Tom hadn't known who Harry was. _Wow, he must've been trapped in there for more than eleven years_, Ginny realized. _She also realized that she had no idea how old Tom was. He must be at least a bit older than me. Hopefully he's not actually too much older than me though. It would be nicer if he was around my age, but he can't be. He seems too mature. He's at least a teenager, if not older. I hope he's not an adult_. _I'll ask him_. Ginny opened the diary and dipped her quill into her ink eagerly.

"_**Hey Tom,**_" Ginny wrote.

"_**Hello dear Ginerva, it is a pleasure to see you write to me again,**_" Tom replied in his beautiful, neat, arched script. _His handwriting is so neat and fancy, it's practically calligraphy_, Ginny noted, rememberiing her dad explain the art of writing in curly, fancy script.

"_**Hey Tom, I had a question. How long have you been in the diary? You must've been in there for a long time if you didn't know who Harry Potter was.**_" Ginny watched the words sink into the page, holding her breath as she waited for his response.

"_**I've been stuck in here so long that time has lost all meaning. I can't tell day from night, and time blends into one continuous thing. There's no differentiation from one day to another.**_" Ginny felt a pang of pity for Tom.

"_**Wow, your existence in there must be quite bland. So do you know how old you are, about?**_" Ginny asked curiously.

"_**I was sixteen when I was trapped in the diary, and I haven't aged since then**_." _Wow, sixteen. Tom's pretty old, but he's not super-duper old. But still! He's a teenager, but he's still ever so polite and patient with me. He's so understanding and mature, unlike my brothers. Maybe he's just grateful to be talking to another human being after so long, but still. I feel like I can trust him with anything. But I won't go on about just myself. I'll try to ask him about himself too. He deserves to have someone give him attention after being cooped in their so long. I promise I'll try to be as good of a friend to him as he is to me_.

"_**Wow Tom, I'm so sorry.**_" Ginny replied truthfully.

"_**It's okay Ginerva. It's not too bad. I've gotten used to it after a while**_." That made Ginny feel even worse for Tom.

"_**Tom, what was your life like before you were trapped in the diary?**_"

"_**It was actually kind of boring. I enjoyed my classes at Hogwarts though**_." Tom replied.

"_**You went to Hogwarts? Cool!**_" Ginny replied happily, and then wondered why she was so surprised about that. The majority of wizards and witches in Britain went to Hogwarts. "_**I'm starting at Hogwarts this fall. I can't wait.**_"

"_**Wow, that's great Ginerva. You'll love Hogwarts**_."

"_**But I'm kind of nervous. What if I don't do well at my classes? What if everyone is ahead of me, and I'm utterly hopeless at learning? What if everyone already has friends and I'm left all alone?**_" Ginny internally cursed herself for revealing her hopelessly insecure and nervous side, but then remembered that Tom had already seen that side of her and still talked to her, still liked her.

"_**Oh, don't be nervous dear Ginerva. Hogwarts is nothing to be nervous about. All the first years are going to be as new as you, and there's a lot to learn, so most people probably won't be ahead of you. Most people won't know each other right at the beginning. The Hogwarts Express is a great place to introduce yourself to people and make friends. If you're nervous about whether you'll be able to understand what they teach you, look through your books once to get an idea of what you'll be learning, so that you're not caught off-guard.**_"

"_**Thanks Tom. That really made me feel better." **_Almost as an afterthought, Ginny asked_**, "Hey Tom, did you like Hogwarts?**_"

"_**I loved Hogwarts. It was amazing. I felt at home there.**_" Ginny felt comforted and at peace.

"_**Wow**_," Ginny wrote in wonder. _Hogwarts must be amazing then, if Tom felt at home there_. She was about to write more when she heard a voice from downstairs.

"Ginny!" her mother yelled.

"Coming!" Ginny called back. She turned back and dipped her quill into her ink. "_**I'm sorry Tom, I must go. I'll talk to you later though. Bye**_."

"_**Goodbye, Ginerva. I'll look forward to our conversations, as always,**_" Tom replied. Ginny felt her heart swell in an unfamiliar manner. She closed the diary, surprised at the strange feeling in her.


	6. Chapter 5

Tom was pleased with his performance. He had acted concerned and caring. He had gotten her to pour out more of her feelings to him. _Her emotions must be very prominent_, he thought. _When she writes to me, she must feel very strongly about it, because today, in our conversation, I could feel a slight ghost of emotion that seemed to be coming from outside the diary_. _It seemed as if I could detect her own emotions, radiating off of her_. Tom understood the implications of this new development. _It seems as if the soul-feeding is starting to work_, Tom mused. _If I can detect her emotions pouring into me already, then it won't be long before this magic will advance to the soul-feeding stage. Soon, she will be feeding me bits of her soul_. _Her soul will strengthen mine, and I will soon be powerful again_. _And then I can continue my plans and fulfill my ambitions for a better Wizarding world, as if there had been no interruption_. But a thought struck him. _There has, however, been a gap between the time of my...destruction... and now_,_ the present_, Tom admitted, loathingly running the word 'destruction' in his mind. He felt feelings of utter hatred swell up within him towards Harry, the bane of his existence. _If Ginerva is starting Hogwarts now, and Harry is older than her, then it must be at least eleven years since. And Harry is probably older than Ginerva, since he is friends with one of her older brothers. _Tom prided himself in his ability to remember and recall minute details. He knew that his keen observational skills were useful, and remembering things that others deemed unimportant gave him an edge and helped him hold more power over others. _And now all I need to do is respond to her the way she wants, and she'll give me her soul_. But now, without anything to occupy his mind, Tom was, once again, very bored. _I've spent five bloody decades in here_, Tom fumed. _I didn't anticipate that my soul would have a personality, could think for itself. If I had, maybe I would've looked for a different way to achieve immortality, or maybe discovered a new way. After all, there are still many mysteries about magic, many secrets that have yet to be unlocked_. _And when I come back to life and gain a body_,_ I'll be mortal again. I could split my soul once more, but I should probably find or come up with an alternative. There's got to be another way to gain immortality_. So, once again, Tom ran over what he already knew, trying to see if he could think of something, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to until he got his hands on some books. After he had discovered the idea of using Horcruxes, he had abandoned any attempt to find an alternative to immortality, and he knew that it wouldn't hurt to find a different way to achieve it. He wasn't sure if he wanted to subject a part of his soul to the same mindless existence as he himself had for the past fifty years. Tom's thoughts soon turned to Ginny again. _Maybe she'll write soon_, Tom thought with a hint of hope. _After all, she seems to adore me_. _While she may be nothing more than an immature, whiny brat, at least it's a break from the monotonus routine of fifty years. It's something different. She isn't any different from most people, but even her writing to me is better than nothing. And the more she writes to me, the stronger I'm going to get_. The next couple of days passed with his thoughts alternating between planning what to do once he got out of the diary and anticipating Ginny writing to him.

"_**Hello Tom**_," Tom brightened as he saw the words, wondering why she hadn't written to him sooner.

"_**Hello dear Ginerva**_," Tom replied. "_**How have you been these past couple of days**_?"

"_**I've been fine Tom, what about you?**_"

"_**I have been better. How is your summer? Surely you must be having fun?**_"_ Summer is the most boring time of year, _Tom thought_. There's usually not much to do, especially not at that run-down, pitiful, disgusting place that the Muggles call an orphanage. It's hardly a suitable place for anyone to live, much less someone like me_. Tom shook himself out of his thoughts as he saw Ginny's words appear, not wanting to miss her words so that he could respond appropriately.

"_**Actually, not really. I mean, even though Harry is here, we don't really talk much. It's mostly him and Ron who stick together. Percy has been holing himself up in his room all summer. God knows what he does in there. I mean, how many times can he polish his prefect badge and look over his books?**_" _Many times_, Tom thought to himself. _At least, there's no limit to reading. I never polished my badge; I simply put a Dust-Repelling charm on it. And she seems to scorn at reading. Foolish girl. She should realize that reading gives knowledge, and the pursuit of knowledge is one of the most important things. This Percy fellow seems interesting, even if he is a Weasley. Focus Tom_, he reminded himself as he again nearly missed Ginny's words.

"_**Fred and George are always experimenting with something or another, trying to invent something. I swear, they'll blow the house up one day. They've nearly destroyed their room. Besides, they're twins. They have each other, and they don't really need anyone else. **_" Tom had a sudden mental image of two identical red-headed twins sitting in their room, plotting to blow up their house, and if he could've, he would have cracked a smile. "_**And that's about it. Mum is always doing something or another around the house. Bill and Charlie used to talk to me, but they don't live with us anymore. I personally can't wait to go to Hogwarts, actually. I know it may sound weird, but I'm excited and looking forward to school. I want summer to be over.**_"

"_**I completely agree with you, Ginerva. I always wondered why most people were always anticipating summer so much. I personally would wait for school to start**__**.**_"

"_**I can't wait to meet new people. I'll meet new people, which is exciting. Maybe I'll make some new friends. And I will get to learn magic. I'll finally be able to do things with my magic, and actually control it.**_"

"_**But you live in a magical family. Surely you've had the opportunity to learn magic?**_" Tom asked, genuinely interested in what Ginny had to say for once. While he knew that he had been smarter than even the purebloods in his grade, several of the ones he knew had learned some magic before they had arrived to Hogwarts. _Then again, many of those people were the likes of the Malfoys_, Tom sneered. He had supposed that most of the people simply hadn't cared enough, were too lazy to even attempt to do anything on their own before they came to Hogwarts. _But Ginny seems to want to do magic. She seems to actually want to take initiative and try something independently, so then why doesn't she_?

"_**My mum doesn't want us to do magic until we get to Hogwarts. She thinks it's wrong, since we're not supposed to do magic outside of school. And she thinks that we should wait until we have proper teacher supervision. I think it's utterly stupid, but I can't really do anything about it**_."

"_**Sure you can**_," Tom stated. "_**I did lots of magic with my wand before school started. I was really bored during the summer. I wasn't going to just sit there now that I knew I was a wizard. I went through my books and tested out what I could do on my own with my wand. I taught myself a lot over the summer**_."

"_**Wow Tom, that's really impressive. But wait, did you learn that you were a wizard only that summer? So you didn't know before?**_" Tom cursed himself for letting that slip. _How could I have been so careless?_

"_**No, I didn't. Dumbledore came and told me**_." Tom internally scowled at the thought of the old professor. _I wonder if he's still alive._

"_**Dumbledore? He's an amazing wizard! He defeated Grindelwald and is the only person You-Know-Who ever feared. And even though he was offered a position as the Minister of Magic, he turned it down to be headmaster of Hogwarts. I've heard that he's a great Headmaster.**_" _So he's Headmaster? And ha. The only person I fear. Yeah right. Is that what people really say? I'll need to fix that. That'll have to be the first thing I do. I won't let him foil my future plans_. Tom hatred towards Dumbledore was so strong that he had to struggle to not allow his thoughts to surface.

"_**So what did your parents say? What did they think?**_" Ginny penned quickly, seeming eager. Tom scoffed.

"_**My parents were dead. They had died when I was born. Dumbledore came to me at the Muggle orphanage where I stayed.**_" It was partially true, too. Tom's mother really had died when giving birth to him, and to Tom, his father was as good as dead. And he had made it true the summer after he created his first Horcrux. Ginny's question had made Tom laugh bitterly as he thought about what his father's reaction would've been. _After all, my father had abandoned my mother because she could do magic_. He could only imagine what the man would think if Dumbledore had come in front of him.

"_**Oh, I'm so, so sorry Tom! I can't believe I said that. Please forgive me**_." Ginny wrote frantically. Tom couldn't believe that she was apologizing so much._ It's not her fault that my stupid Muggle father left me and my mother. She shouldn't apologize for something that wasn't her fault_. _But I don't care. She can apologize as much as she wants for something she can't control. A weak behaviour, but what else can I expect from a girl like her?_ A part of him, though, was surprised that she cared. From what he knew of people at the orphanage and the ones who had found out about his background, they didn't care about sparing his feelings. Quite the contrary, they almost seemed to relish in that information, the way many teenage girls relished in gossiping. The few people who did apologize never sounded sincere. But Tom could tell, even through the paper and ink separating him and Ginny, that her apology was sincere and that she genuinely cared.

"_**It's perfectly fine, Ginerva. You didn't know. It's not your fault**_."

"_**But I still can't help but feel bad! So, you were able to do magic before you got to Hogwarts? With your wand?**_" Ginny seemed eager to change the subject.

"_**Yes, I was able to do it with no problem, even though I lived around Muggles. So with you living in a Wizarding family, it shouldn't be a problem. The trace won't even register**_."

"_**But my mum wouldn't like it**_," Ginny wrote wistfully. "_**I wish she would let me get a head start**_."

"_**But from what you tell me, your mother hasn't really stopped to consider how you feel about these situations. You seem to be a model daughter, so it's only fair that your parents try to understand you. And you're not even trying to do anything wrong. You're not hurting anyone, or doing dangerous or Dark spells. So you don't necessarily have to go around telling people of your plans**_." Tom knew that laying praise on thickly would please Ginny.

"_**I suppose that is true. Besides, it's not like I know what Percy is doing holed up in his room, or what Fred and George are working on with their little explosions**_," Ginny wrote back thoughtfully.

"_**Exactly. They're probably using magic too. So it is more than all right for you to do something that will benefit your education. You can take a step towards independence**_."

"_**Yes. Yes, I will do that. Thanks, Tom! You truly understand me and look at my side of things instead of being quick to judge me the way others do. I'll look at my books and see what spells I can do, and I'll tell you how badly I fail**_."

"_**Ginerva, don't assume you're going to fail right from the start. You will succeed if you believe that you can**_."

"_**Oh Tom, I was joking!**_" Tom mentally berated himself for making himself look foolish. "_**But thanks for that bit of advice. I'll talk to you later. Bye, Tom!**_"

"_**Goodbye, my dear Ginerva**_," Tom replied back. _Hmph, a joke? What kind of a joke is that? Jokes are supposed to be funny, and admitting that a person doesn't believe in himself isn't funny, it's weakness_. _And I looked like a fool. But in my defense, I can't tell her tone simply from words on a page. That's ridiculous_. Eventually, his mind wandered to their conversation earlier, when he had accidently let slip a detail of his life that he avoided talking about as much as possible. He was still surprised at her concern about another's emotions. It was different from what he had encountered before. He had seen people concerned about one another, but had never experienced it himself. _Of course, I don't need to. I don't need anyone to care about me, and I don't need to care about anyone else. That just creates an additional, useless fault_. But Tom still felt a new sense of contentment, and if he hadn't been as stubborn and would've stopped to admit it to himself, he would've admitted that the feeling of having another care for his feelings was a somewhat pleasant one.

**A.N. Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update. Do you think I'm doing all right with Tom's characterization? Is he too OOC? Please review. Reviews are my life. They tell me what I'm doing right, what I should fix, and they let me know that the story is worth continuing. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 6

As soon as Ginny closed the diary, she replayed her conversation with Tom. She especially dwelled upon the part about her doing purposeful magic at home without her parents' permission. Ginny was extremely eager to learn magic, to finally be able to do something useful and maybe even fun. _Magic is just so cool. And besides, it would be nice if I walked into Hogwarts knowing a bit more about magic than the other kids. Not too much more - I don't want to look like a complete nerd like that rather unattractive Hermione - but just enough to seem appealingly smart, so that people will be impressed_. _Besides, I do have the advantage of being from a pureblooded wizarding family, so there's no danger of Muggles anywhere nearby. It would be nice to have a little edge over the other kids, to stand out for something other than my red Weasley hair_. The obedient part of her mind objected. _Your parents wouldn't approve_, it said. _They would be disappointed if you didn't listen to them_. The rest of her mind rebutted. _But have they stopped to notice how I feel about everything? About blending into the walls, about not having my own unique identity, of not only being poor but also getting the worst of everything simply because I'm the youngest? Of the feeling of inferiority? I'm tired of it, and I want to do something different for once. I'm tired of conforming, and I want to do something spontaneous. Learning magic by myself is something that I have the power to do on my own to make myself stand out, and Tom's right. I am always a perfect daughter, and I won't be doing anything wrong by learning magic a bit earlier than I "should". _Her resolve set, Ginny opened "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1". Ginny flipped the book to the first page of spells. On it, she found the spell for levitating objects.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Ginny read out. "This is a spell performed to levitate objects in the air. To perform the spell, you say 'wingardium leviosia' while using the wand movement shown in the diagram below." Ginny's eyes trailed down to the diagram at the bottom of the page. It showed arrows pointing down, scooping up and forming a u, and then pointing sharply down. Ginny raised her wand and pointed it at the quill on her desk.

"Wingardium leviosa," Ginny said while moving her arm as indicated by the arrows, her wrist straight and stiff. Nothing happened. She tried again, her voice louder, but to no avail. Ginny tried a third time, and this time she was practically yelling at her quill, but still nothing happened. _It's no use_, Ginny thought hopelessly. _I'm no good at magic. I can't even do the first spell in our school book. I'm going to be absolute rubbish in my subjects, I just know it_. She opened her diary, dipped her quill in her inkpot, and wrote to Tom.

"_**Dear Tom, I took your advice. You had been right in that I should try to see what I could do myself, but apparently I can't do anything on my own. I can't even do a simple 'wingardium leviosa'. How will I do remotely well at Hogwarts if I can't even do the first spell in my book?**_" As she watched the words sink into the smooth cream parchment of the diary, she was surprised that she had addressed Tom as 'dear'. When did he become 'dear' to her? _Well, he does always address me as 'dear Ginerva', so it only makes sense that I address him as 'dear Tom'. Besides, he is nice to me, and it's not like he doesn't deserve the title_.

"_**Oh dear Ginerva, don't worry. Yes, the 'wingardium leviosa' spell is relatively basic, but a lot of people struggle with it simply because they're not using the proper technique. Tell me, Ginerva, were you using your wrist to perform the wand movement or your arm?**_"

"_**My arm**_," Ginny responded, suddenly feeling sheepish.

"_**Your wand movement should come from your wrist, not your entire arm. Try to move your arm as little as possible. Your arm movement doesn't contribute to the spell. And this is actually true for all spells. Remember, swish and flick. And I don't know how you're saying it, but I'll point out that it's 'wing-AAR-dee-um le-vi-O-sa'. Sometimes, people emphasize the 'sa', and the spell doesn't work.**_" Ginny put down her quill, picked up her wand, and made those adjustments. She watched in wonder as her quill rose smoothly into the air, about four feet above her desk. She observed her quill for a little bit before she pointed her wand away and her quill fell back onto her desk. Ginny resumed writing.

"_**Oh Tom, it worked! My quill rose so high up into the air. Wow, I just performed my first spell. On my own!**_" Ginny realized her error. "_**Well, not completely on my own. I mean, you helped me with the spell, so thanks. A lot.**_"

"_**Anything for you, my dear. We are friends, are we not?**_" Tom's words appeared. As Ginny read them, she felt a light blush creep to her face, which surprised her. Normally, she only blushed at the thought or sight of Harry. Of course, when the person in question was Harry, she blushed a lot more. At the thought of Harry, her face would burn a bright tomato red. This was nowhere close, but she was still surprised. _Well, no guy has ever referred to me as 'dear' except for my own brothers, and they do it in a joking way. When Tom writes to me though, he almost always referrs to me as 'dear'. And when he does that, I feel special. I feel like I matter to someone, and it feels good_.

"_**Yes Tom, we are friends. Good friends.**_"

"_**Well, friends help each other. They do each other favors. You would help me too, would you not, if you could?**_"

"_**Yes of course I would Tom. You're my friend, and if you ever needed my help, I'd help you however I could." **_Ginny wondered why he brought that up. _**"Do you need help with anything, Tom?**_" she inquired. There was a pause before Tom replied.

"_**No, no. I just wanted to make a point**_." But there was something in the pause that made Ginny think that Tom was lying, and that he was holding something back. But she decided to drop it for now. _After all, we're good friends. I asked him for help when I needed it, and I'm confident he will too if he needs it_. "_**Did you try any other spells?**_" Tom asked her.

"_**No, not yet. I've only done the 'Wingardium Leviosa', but I'm going to do more. I'll tell you how I do. Bye, Tom**_."

"_**Until next time, dear Ginerva**_," he wrote back, elegant as usual.

The rest of the summer passed extremely rapidly like this. Ginny went through all of her spell books, choosing not to concot potions so as not to deplete her ingredient supply. She found herself unable to talk to Harry, but she wasn't as upset about it anymore as she used to be. Ginny had her school books to keep her occupied, and she went through them, mastering all of the spells with occasional help from Tom when she needed it. _Tom really knows his spells well_, Ginny thought. _He must've been really smart when he was at Hogwarts. Maybe he was even the top of his class! His advice is so helpful that the spells really do become easy. I feel so smart too now. I feel like I can accomplish something if I try. And this is certainly a better use of my time than allowing myself to be pushed around and teased by my brothers_. She decided to ask him a bit more about his school days.

"_**Dear Tom**_," she began.

"_**Pleasure to be talking to you again, dear Ginerva**_," Tom countered.

"_**You too, Tom," **_Ginny wrote back_**. "You know, I was curious. What were you like when you were at Hogwarts? You seem really smart. You must've been top of your class, right**_?"

"_**Well..." **_Tom wrote and trailed off, not seeming to want to continue.

"_**You were, weren't you? I'm right**_."

"_**Okay, you're right. I was top of my class**_."

"_**Were you prefect in your fifth year?**_"

"_**Yes, I was**_."

"_**Then you must've been Head Boy too, right?**_"

"_**Well, I was trapped in this diary the year before, but yes, the other part of me, the part who still lives in the real world, was Head Boy**_." Ginny rememberd that only a part of Tom had been trapped in the diary, that the part in the diary that she was talking to was only part of the whole person that the real Tom had once been. She felt a pang of pity for Tom.

"_**Wow, you sound like my brother Percy**_," Ginny wrote unthinkingly. When she realized what she had written, she wished she could take it bad. She remembered the condescending tone she had used when talking about Percy the first days that she had talked to Tom, and didn't want Tom to think that she was comparing him to Percy.

"_**I hope I am nicer and don't come across as self-righteous the way you described Percy as**_," Tom replied slowly.

"_**Oh no! I didn't mean that Tom. I just meant that you and Percy were both really smart, top of your class, and prefects**_. _**And I think Percy will one day be Head Boy. You're way nicer Tom. You're not self-righteous at all. You are so humble that you barely wanted to acknowledge that you were top of your class instead of boasting about it.**_" _And he cares about my feelings more_, Ginny reflected. _He always asked me if I was feeling better, if my brothers didn't still bother me, and always told me the positive things about Hogwarts to ease my fears_.

"_**So, Hogwarts must be starting soon, am I right?"**_

"_**Yes. In fact, it's starting tomorrow! I'm so excited. I can't wait. Hogwarts sounds amazing based on your and others' descriptions. But I'm still a litte nervous. What if no one likes me? What if they laugh at my old clothes and schoolbooks? I know that you've told me not to worry, but I still can't help but worry**_."

"_**Ginerva, anything is a possibility. What you said may be a possibility, but also consider the chance that someone will like you. And odds are that in a school of well over one thousand people, someone will like you**_."

"_**Yeah, I suppose that's true**_."

"_**Besides, I like you, and I do hope that you consider me special enough to bring with your belongings to Hogwarts, so that will make at least one person at Hogwarts who likes you**_." Ginny cracked a smile at that. _I suppose that's true_.

"_**Of course I'm bringing you to Hogwarts. I love talking to you, and I want to be able to tell you about how Hogwarts turns out. I think you'd like to hear about your old school too**_."

"_**I'd love to hear about Hogwarts the way it is today. But even more, I'd love to hear about you at Hogwarts**_."

"_**Thanks Tom**_." Ginny looked out her window and saw how dark it was. "_**Shoot, I need to go down to dinner and then I need to pack. I've barely packed everything, and my room is a disaster. I'll talk to you tomorrow Tom**_."

"_**Goodnight my sweet Ginerva**_." Ginny went down to dinner with her usual smile on her face. She felt a pleasant feeling swell within her as she replayed the words 'my sweet Ginerva' in her head. _I'm usually this happy after I'm done talking to Tom, and this never happens when I talk to anyone else_. Dinner that night consisted of apparently all of Harry's favorite foods. It had ended with treacle tart. Ginny looked at all of the foods, trying to memorize all of the foods that Harry liked.

The next morning, Ginny finished stuffing her suitcase with all of her school things. She had forgotten to pack her spell books the night before, and was scrambling around to pack them in the morning. After she was done packing everything, her dad came up to her room and hauled her trunk down the stairs and out to the car. Ginny saw all of the stuff and people who were going to be in the car. _I wonder how we're all going to fit_. Then, she caught her dad's eye, and understood. _Of course, I nearly forgot about Dad. He probably magicked the car. Good thing, though, or else we'd all never fit. The car looks far too small for all of us_.

"Not a word to Molly," she heard her dad whisper to Harry, confirming her suspicions. Ginny stared at Harry, at his ink-black hair that fell messily across his forehead and his green eyes that were bright with some indescripable emotion. She then quickly looked away before he could notice her staring, her heart beating rapidly. _How does the mere sight of him do this to me? If only I wouldn't keep reacting like this, then we could have a conversation_. Eventually, everyone was in the car. Ginny sat in the front with her mother, much to Ginny's chagrin. She had hoped that she'd be able to sit to Harry. Ginny turned back and looked at Harry as she heard her mother say something about how roomy the car seemed. Harry's emerald-green eyes were sparkling with sadness as he stared at the Burrow. _Wow, he seems almost depressed about leaving our run-down, crooked house. He seems like he's going to miss it_. When Ginny looked back at the Burrow again, she felt as if she were looking at her home through a different perspective. She saw it through Harry's eyes for a second, through the eyes of someone who normally lived with people who despised him, who mistreated him horribly and made him feel worthless. At the Burrow though, he had been loved, adored, and doted upon, and not simply because he was the Boy-Who-Lived. She could almost feel his sadness as they pulled out, but before it could linger, they were back at the Burrow.

"I left my Filibuster fireworks!" George yelled as he ran out of the car and went inside to retrieve them. They left but returned again.

"My broomstick!" Fred exclaimed. "I need my broomstick; I'm one of the Beaters!" They left again. As they approached the highway, Ginny laughed to herself. _Wow. Tom's right. They are...something... _Ginny trailed off as she realized that she had forgotten one of the most important things she had planned on bringing.

"I LEFT MY DIARY!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs, panicking at the realization. She had to bring Tom to Hogwarts, she needed to bring him. He was her best friend, the one she could confide everything to, the one who knew and understood her so well. _And besides, I told him I would. It wouldn't be fair to him to leave him trapped in that diary again all alone. It just wouldn't_.

"Ginny, forget - " her mother started.

"It's okay Molly dear," her father butted in tiredly. They went back to the Burrow. Ginny sprinted into the house and retrieved her diary. _Oh Tom_, Ginny thought as she breathed a sigh of relief. _I'm so sorry I almost forgot you. I can't believe I was stupid enough to do that. I can't believe I almost left you at home, can't believe I forgot about you of all people. I'm so sorry, Tom. I promise I'll never leave you_. She ran back out to the car again, her diary pressed tightly against her chest as if that would prevent her from forgetting Tom again. Even though her mother next to her was angry and irritated, Ginny felt at peace that she finally had the most important thing with her.


	8. Chapter 7

**A.N. Hey guys, this chapter starts off a little bit before the point where the last chapter ended. Just thought I'd point that out to avoid confusion. And I made a little change to the previous chapter. I just had Ginny say her thoughts out loud about her grief and guilt over leaving Tom instead of her just thinking them.**

Tom honestly wondered what he had been thinking when he had suggested to Ginny that she practice magic at home before starting Hogwarts. _I had been trying to get her to turn against her mother by disobeying her, because that would be the first step in her preferring and relying on me over the others in her life. By listening to me and agreeing with me, she would be closer to me than even to her family, and would strengthen the bond between us, making me stronger and more able to feed off of her emotions. And it had worked to some extent_, Tom acknowledged. He thought back to their conversation that day, when she had agreed with him and thus put him above her mother. After she had agreed with him and admitted that he was the one who truly understood her, Tom had been bombarded with very strong emotions. He felt happiness, excitement, and something that strangely seemed to be...affection? That made Tom realize that he was, in fact, feeling all of Ginny's emotions. _The bond is growing stronger_, Tom had thought gleefully. _Before, I could only feel faint ghosts of emotions from her, but now when she writes in me, I'm immerssed in them, and it's almost as if they are my own emotions. She has poured out more of her soul to me, and I feel stronger_. He had also felt a faint ticking, ticking regularly, and it took him a while for him to realize that it was a heartbeat. _Wow, at this rate, I'll soon have some sort of a corporeal form. And once I have that, I can drain her life force, and my corporeal form will be solid and very much alive_! Tom felt the ticking speed up in anticipation. However, his progress stopped there and stayed there for the next several weeks. Now, Ginny only talked about the spells that she performed, and either told him how well she was doing on them or asked him for help on the ones she struggled with. The only emotions he could feel from her were excitement and frustration, and he could feel his own frustration grow because these emotions didn't really make him stronger. He responded to her patiently as ever, while the entire time he hated being reduced to mere tutoring. He felt like he was being used, and he hated the feeling. _I'm supposed to be the one using people for my own ends_. He reassured himself that this would be the case here as well. _This will only be temporary, if I can help it. I'm her only "friend", and soon she will be telling me all of her emotional problems again. _He tried to expedite that by asking her about her family, but she didn't seem to be bothered by them anymore_. It's probably because she's much more occupied with her books and magic, to the point that she doesn't give them a chance to bother her much. If only they'd bother her again so that she'd have some substantial emotions to release into me_. Despite his frustration, he couldn't help but think of how she seemed similar to him. From an early age, he had absorbed himself in his books because the other children at the orphanage seemed to have nothing better to do than to torture him and try to break him. But Tom wasn't one to let other people dictate how he'd feel. No, he absorbed himself in books from an early age, and the books helped him build a wall separating himself from other people, so that their cruel, thoughtless remarks wouldn't hurt him. They helped him feel apathetic, and he was glad. _Emotions only serve as a weakness that someone could easily exploit_. So when he noticed that Ginny seemed to be doing something similar, even though she was only doing it because he gave her the idea, Tom couldn't help but feel the faintest flicker of pride that she was being shaped in his likeness, that he had the power to mold her. _If I didn't need her soul to make me stronger, if I didn't need to kill her, then I could get her over on my side. She'd make a great spy. She's a part of the biggest blood-traitor family, and her family is close to Harry Potter. But if I don't use her to come back, there's no telling when I will find someone else. It's a shame that she'll have to die. I almost don't want to waste that pure blood, even if she is a blood-traitor_.

Tom was abruptly shaken out of his thoughts as he felt a queer sensation. He felt as if he was being abruptly turned sideways, and suddenly he found himself pressed against something. Something was pressing in on him from all sides, and he could feel some heat radiating off of the object and warming him. _Why am I sideways like this? And how do I have a sense of orientation? I must've been shaken around before, too. After all, I'm in a book. So why am I only noticing something now? _Before he could ponder upon those questions too much though, he heard a faint whisper, and he strained to attempt to listen, all the while wondering how he could hear as well. He finally caught the words.

"-I'm so sorry I almost forgot you", he heard a young, rather high-pitched, feminine voice exclaim. "I can't believe I was stupid enough to do that. I can't believe I almost left you at home, can't believe I forgot about you of all people. I'm so sorry, Tom. I promise I'll never leave you." Many questions swirled around in his thoughts. _How can I hear her? How is it that I am somewhat aware of my surroundings, enough to distinguish orientation? These must all be side-effects of the strengthening bond_. Tom felt a drop of water trickle into the pages, and he realized that it must've been a drop of Ginny's tears._ I can't believe I mean this much to her_. _It sounds as if she had left the house, and that she had come back for me. And with a family as big as hers, they must not have been too happy with her. I must be really important to her. Of course, that will just make it easier to accomplish what I need to. It'll be so easy to use her and then kill her. Who knows, by the time that happens, she might even do it willingly_. As Tom absorbed her tear, he felt himself grow a bit stronger. _Well, that makes sense because she must be feeling very emotional if she is crying_. _She must be really alone if my few words to her mean so much to her, and she must hate the feeling_. Hearing her voice had reminded Tom just how young and vulnerable she was. _Poor Ginerva. She has no idea what the most important person in her life has in store for her_. If Tom had stopped to think about his words, he would've realized that he sounded almost sorry about it.

"_**Dear Tom**_," Ginny wrote about a half-hour later. "_**I'm on the Hogwarts' Express. It's leaving the station right now.**_"

"_**So, the big day is finally here**_," Tom wrote. "_**You must be excited. What do you think of the train?**_"

"_**It's even more amazing than I thought. I'd always seen it from the outside, and it's a beautiful, big, red train on the outside.**_" Ginny paused in her writing. "_**Oh wait, whoops. You went to Hogwarts once too. Of course you know what the Hogwarts Express looks like. Sorry**_."

"_**No no, I want to hear you describe the Hogwarts Express. It's been fifty years, and it's sad but I'm afraid I almost forgot what it was like. Besides, I'm curious to hear if it has changed over the years. Please do go on.**_" _She was excited when she was describing the Hogwarts Express, and some emotion from her is better than no emotion, _Tom decided. _It'll keep her writing, and it'll be easier to steer the conversation to what I want if I have her writing than it would be if she was just sitting there_.

"_**The train is a beautiful, rich red color with a vividly black chimney. But from the inside, the compartments are so bright and comfortable. The luggage compartments are roomier than they first appear. And there are so many people. I see a lot of first-years. I hope I can talk to them once everyone is on the train. It'll be nice to have friends before I walk into Hogwarts.**_"

"_**So you haven't talked to anyone yet?**_" Tom asked.

"_**Oh no. Mum had helped me get my luggage onto the train, and I just sat down in a compartment. I don't quite want to go up to a stranger and randomly start talking to them. I thought that would seem too strange, too queer. I'm guessing that someone will sit in my compartment eventually and then I can talk to them. Or I can move to someone else's compartment**_."

"_**Yeah, that sounds like a better plan than randomly approaching someone. So are you alone in your compartment right now? You didn't sit with your brothers or Harry?**_"

"_**Well, Percy's on prefect duty patrolling the train, and he'll be sitting in the prefect's compartment. Fred and George are sitting with their friends. I think one of them's named Lee Jordan. And I haven't seen Ron or Harry yet. They were supposed to come onto the platform after me, but I didn't see them. They must be around somewhere**_."

"_**Do you wish they'd sat with you, or are you happier this way?**_" Tom asked, hoping to get a bit more of an emotional response.

"_**Well, Percy, Fred, and George are quite older than me, so it would've been awkward sitting with their friends. I do wish I could've sat with Ron and Harry though. Maybe I'd get to ask them more about Hogwarts**_." Tom could feel some of Ginny's longing, and he supposed that it was all he'd get for now.

"_**You haven't asked them about it yet?**_" Tom asked incredulously. _She has so many older brothers, and she has told me a bit of what she already knew about Hogwarts_.

"_**Well, yes, I have, but now, on the Hogwarts Express, it seems like perfect timing to ask about this and use it as a conversation starter**_."

"_**Well, that is logical**_," Tom noted.

"Hello Hermione," Tom heard Ginny say clearly, her quill still touching the paper. _The quill must serve as a stronger link between us. There's already a link, I know that from the fact that I can feel her emotions when she writes and from earlier today, but having the quill on the page seems to further accentuate the connection. I think it's because the quill connects us physically, the way that a rope connects two people holding opposite ends of it. Somehow, that must have something to do with this. But the connection could go both ways. Just in case, I'll take precautions_. Tom cleared his mind, making it free of any thoughts. He immersed himself completely in his surroundings and just listen to Ginny's words without trying to make sense of them or analyzing them just then.

"No, I didn't see them come onto the platform after me. I lost sight of them after I got on. They must've met up with some of their other schoolmates." There was a pause. "What? They're not on the train? Are - are you sure?" Another pause. "You checked all of the compartments? Well, maybe they're changing into their robes." She paused again. "Well, I don't know. It was just an idea. But how could they not have gotten on the train? How could they have been so careless?" Tom felt the quill drop, and he knew it was safe to analyze what he had just heard. _Well, she must've been talking about Ron and Harry from what she mentioned before. And from what Ginerva just said, it sounds like they somehow missed the train. Either that or that Hermione girl was somehow mistaken, but from the sound of the conversation, it seemed like Hermione had considered all possibilities and only one was true_. Tom's suspicions were confirmed when he felt the quill touch the paper again.

"_**Tom, Harry and Ron aren't on the train. They missed it. How could they have missed it? What are they going to do now?"**_

"_**How do you know for a fact that they missed the train?**_" Tom asked, not wanting to sound like he already knew since that would've been suspicious.

"_**Hermione checked all of the compartments. Twice. And they're not there. What do we do?**_" Tom didn't miss the way she said 'we'. _So now we're a pair. Now I'm a part of the things she does. But then again, I'm not surprised. I am succeeding in my goal, the way I always do_.

"_**Well, maybe she missed a compartment. Maybe they switched compartments to one that she had already checked. They might even be in the bathroom. There are many possibilities, and there is no reason to panic**__**.**_"

"_**But surely she couldn't have missed them if she checked all of the compartments twice. And the train is really long, so they can't have been in the bathroom for as long as it would've taken Hermione to search the train twice. Maybe I should look again, just to reassure myself. I can't just sit here. I'm so worried about them! I do hope that they are safely on the train, and that if they somehow missed the train that Mum and Dad will do something to somehow get them to Hogwarts safely. I'm going to go look for them**_."

"_**Ginerva, but you said so yourself that Hermione probably didn't miss them since she double-checked and since the train is so long. Maybe it was too late. The clock could've struck eleven before they got onto the platform. Was your family late to the train station?**_"

"_**Well, I guess you're right. We didn't have too much time to get onto the platform, and there was only about a minute left when I got on. We got late because first George forgot his fireworks. Then Fred forgot his broom, and then I**_" Ginny stopped writing. _She must be hesitant on admitting that she nearly forgot me_.

"_**You what? Had you forgotten something too?**_"

"_**I realized that I had forgotten to bring you along. Oh Tom, I'm sorry about forgetting you. I didn't mean to**_."

"_**I'm sure you didn't mean to. You must've been too busy in your packing. And rightfully so. You were heading off to Hogwarts, and you had more important things to worry about than a silly little diary**_."

"_**Oh Tom, please don't be angry**_," Ginny replied, and Tom could feel the pleading tone in her words.

"_**I'm not angry, Ginerva. I'm merely stating the truth**_."

"_**Tom, don't you say that. That's not true. You are not just 'a silly little diary'. You are far from it, Tom. Far from it. You're more than that. You're a person, and a really good, kindhearted, nice one too. You're important, Tom. You're definitely important to me. That's why I couldn't believe that I had forgotten you. And it's why I went back and brought you with me**_. " Tom was inundated with Ginny's extremely strong feelings as she wrote those words, and he nearly laughed at the fact that she took him this seriously. _She really does think that I think so badly about myself, that I consider myself so unimportant_. Tom felt her firm, strong resolve coupled with affection. Tom realized that the affection was directed towards him. Ginny's emotions surprised Tom. _Her feelings right now are the strongest I've ever felt them. I've never felt her affection this strongly, not even when she ranted on and on about 'her great hero', Harry. Either I'm feeling her emotions this strongly simply because the bond between us is stronger, or she feels very strongly about me, perhaps more strongly than she feels even about Harry_. Tom found himself feeling smug over this victory. _I mean more to her than the boy she's supposedly in love with, more to her than the heroic 'Golden Boy'. Of course, she doesn't love him. She merely worships him. But maybe that'll change_._ Maybe her affections toward him will shift completely towards me._

"_**I thank you Ginerva. I'm pleased that I might mean as much to you as you do to me, pleased that you decided to bring me with you. But now I feel guilty. Maybe if it wasn't for me, you would've gotten to the station earlier, Harry and Ron would've been on the train, and you wouldn't be worried. It seems as if I have caused you worry, and I'm sorry for that**_," Tom lied smoothly.

"_**Oh Tom, how could you blame yourself? You must be one of those people who'd blame yourself for a disaster halfway across the world**_." _Oh, I hope that I'll have a good reason to blame myself for that one day_, Tom's thoughts interrupted, and he fought to mask it from the pages of the diary. "_**I should've remembered to bring you along before. And it's not like you made me come back to the house to bring you. I do wonder what Harry and Ron will do now**_."

"_**Maybe they could write to the school?**_" Tom suggested. "_**Does either of them have an owl?"**_

"_**Well, Harry does**_," Ginny replied, and Tom felt her brighten at the suggestion. "_**You're right. Harry can write to Hogwarts, and the people at Hogwarts could do something about it. They'll probably get to Hogwarts safely, even if they get there a little later than everyone else. I just hope that they don't get punished for being late**_."

"_**They probably won't**_," Tom assured Ginny. "_**It's happened before, so it's nothing new, and the kids are never punished**_."

"_**Thanks Tom. I feel better**_."

"_**You're wecome, Ginerva**_."

"_**Hey Tom, do you remember your first time on the Hogwarts Express?" **_Ginny asked_**. "I know you don't remember the train, but do you remember how it felt to be on it for the first time, going to a school you hadn't know about before?" **_Tom grimaced mentally at the fact that she remembered that he had grown up amongst Muggles.

"_**Yes, I do**_." Tom replied. He felt the memories flood him, and his words came out easily, naturally. They flowed from him like water. "_**The biggest thing I remember was the feeling of newness, of freedom, of independence. I had stayed at that orphanage for my entire life, and the adults had all of these stupid rules about what you could and couldn't do, where you could and couldn't go. It was a very small world, my world at the orphanage, and all I had known up until then were grimy children who picked on me because they were too stupid to look beneath the surface**_." Tom stopped, surprised at what he had just told Ginny. He had never told anyone this, but being asked about one of the best moments of his life by someone who really cared to know after being trapped in the diary for fifty years brought the memories flooding back, and he hadn't been able to hold him back. He caught himself just in time though, before he had accidently said something foul about Muggles, and he was thankful for that. Tom was outraged at himself for revealing such a weakness, but a part of him questioned how Ginny would even be able to use that as a weakness. _She doesn't know any of the people that you know, and how would she use your words against you? She knows you as Tom Riddle, and the fact that Tom Riddle once might've felt this way isn't surprising, since everyone knows that he grew up in an orphanage before coming to Hogwarts_.

"_**Oh, that's so sad. I'm sorry for you, Tom. It sounds like people picked on you too. And here I always went on about how people teased me. I'm sorry, Tom. I hope I didn't offend you**_," Ginny's words broke him out of his chain of thoughts. _Oh, you don't know the half of it, Tom thought bitterly. If you had gone through what I had, you would've been utterly broken. Of course, it's not just you. Any person lesser than me would've broken. But I was strong, and I didn't let those worthless Muggle children bring me down_. "_**Do go on**_," she continued. The part of Tom that believed that telling Ginny a little more about himself wouldn't be weak urged him to continue. _It'll placate her, _it argued_. And admit it; it feels good_. For some reason, Tom agreed with that. It did feel good. So he continued.

"_**When I was standing on the platform, I was leaving all of that behind me, and I had entered a new world on my own. After being surrounded by those awful people at the orphanage who sneered at me for my magic, I had a new start, away from all of that. I was excited to meet more people who were like me. Like you, I was amazed at the beauty of the Hogwarts Express, compared to the trains I had always seen before. I was impressed with the cleverness of the hidden platform. I was surprised at how many wizards and witches there were. And I realized that if it was this wonderful already, then Hogwarts would be even more so**_." Tom felt strangely relieved after telling her all of that, which more than surprised him. _I've never needed to tell anyone anything. I always hated the idea of sharing my emotions with other people for them to manipulate. And while it's true that Ginerva is probably not capable of manipulating anyone's emotions, I still feel weak for having to share my emotions. So then why do I also feel this relief after telling her my thoughts and feelings? It didn't accomplish anything. It's not like it changed anything about the past. So why do I feel ... lighter?_

"_**Wow, Tom. And was it?**_" Ginny asked, and Tom knew exactly what she was talking about.

"_**Yes, it was. More so than I could've ever imagined. Hogwarts was the best home that I could've ever had.**_"

"_**It must've been amazing for you to not be around those awful kids anymore. I'm happy that you got to leave that horrible place behind. And from what you've said, now I'm even more excited about Hogwarts**_." Ginny stopped writing, for a second, and then she resumed. "_**Oh Tom, there are some people who came into my compartment. They look like they're first-years like me. I'll talk to you later, Tom**_." Tom felt Ginny close the book, and he was more than a little miffed. _Doesn't she realize the weight of what I just told her? I just told her more than I'd ever told anyone in my life for some unknown reason, and she just dismissed it like that? I must've been crazy for telling her all that_. I don't even know why telling her made me feel better. It makes no logical sense. Tom pondered this, trying to figure out why he was feeling this way now when he never had before. He wondered what had changed.

**A.N. So with this chapter, I was hoping to give more of an insight into Tom, his feelings, and his past. I hope that with my descriptions, Tom wasn't too OOC. There's a reason why he wanted to tell her his feelings, so I'm not going on a completely different tangent with Tom and his characterization, so bear with me here. Any guesses to the reason? As always, I really appreciate your reviews. **


	9. Chapter 8

"Hey, can we sit here?" three voices chimed. Ginny's eyes rested on the children who had just entered her compartment. There were two boys and one girl, and as Ginny had told Tom, they looked to be about her age. One was a slim, short boy with a pale face, mousy brown hair, and big wide brown eyes. He had a camera hung around his neck. He seemed to be taking in his surroundings with wonder, his eyes glowing with curiosity. The other boy was taller, with straight chestnut locks framing his tan face. With the sun shining through the window, his hair glistened with natural golden highlights. Ginny couldn't exactly name the color of his eyes, but she noted that they looked like warm chocolate with honey swirled in. He smiled brightly at Ginny, and he had such an air of bright, warm happiness about him that Ginny couldn't help but smile brightly back. Ginny's gaze turned to the girl. She had smooth, caramel skin, dark brown eyes, and ebony black hair, which she had put in a high ponytail that reached the nape of her neck. The girl met Ginnys gaze and smiled lightly.

"Of course," Ginny replied. "I was hoping that someone would come sit with me. But I'm curious - what brings you guys here? I mean, my compartment was just as empty before." Ginny cringed internally, hoping not to sound either rude or needy, though she was worried that she had come off as both with a single sentence.

"Oh sorry," they chestnut-haired boy replied pleasantly, to Ginny's immense relief. "We didn't notice because we had just sat down in the first empty compartment we found. But some older Slytherins had seen Colin here taking pictures of the train and had heard him mention that he was Muggleborn, so they followed us to our compartment and just sat down and started teasing Colin until Pallavi here told them to shove it and suggested that we find a different compartment. Personally, I think that those guys couldn't find a compartment for themselves, so they just decided to bother us into giving them our compartment since we happened to be there." Ginny noted that he had a strange, foreign accent. _He has a cool accent. I wonder where he's from_.

"Well, you guys are welcome to sit here," Ginny replied, gesturing to the empty seats surrounding her. Pallavi sat down on Ginny's right, the chestnut-haired boy sat down on Ginny's left, and to his left sat Colin. "So you're Pallavi," Ginny asked, pointing at the girl on her right. Pallavi nodded in confirmation. "And you're Colin," Ginny turned to look at the boy on the farthest left.

"Yes, I'm Colin. Colin Creevy."

"But you didn't tell me your name yet," Ginny said, turning to the boy right beside her.

"I'm Andrew. Andrew Williams. And you are?"

"Ginny. Ginny Weasley."

"Well, pleasure to meet you Ginny," Andrew replied, extending his right hand. Ginny shook his hand.

"Yes, of course, pleasure to meet you," Pallavi and Colin echoed, reaching out and shaking Ginny's hand. Pallavi looked as though she couldn't believe she had forgotten to greet Ginny, and Colin just looked bright, excited, and energetic. Ginny laughed lightly.

"So, are you a first-year too?" Pallavi asked.

"Yes," Ginny replied.

"Well, that's great! We all are first-years too. Maybe we'll all end up in the same house," Colin said hopefully.

"Do you guys hope to get into any particular house?" Andrew inquired.

"Well, I don't particularly care as long as I'm not in Slytherin," Pallavi stated firmly. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be ahead of everyone else and even being a little cunning to get what you want. I won't even judge the Slytherins until I actually know them better, because to do so would be wrong. It would be prejudice. However, I have heard from other people and even my own parents that Slytherins tend to be cruel, ruthless in getting what they want, and prejudices against Muggleborns and half-bloods, as if blood even matters. But then again, I shouldn't be surprised. Slytherin is made up of almost entirely prejudiced purebloods." Ginny found herself nodding in agreement, remembering Ron complaining loudly over the summer about Draco Malfoy, a "bloody git of a Slytherin" as her brother had put it so gracefully.

"Oh," Colin said timidly, looking uncomfortable. "Well, then I guess I probably won't be in Slytherin. If that's what they think of Muggleborns, I don't want to be in Slytherin. At least that narrows down the choices."

"Apparently Salazar Slytherin is the one who started all of this pureblood nonsense. He argued with Godric Gryffindor because he didn't want Muggleborns and half-bloods to attend Hogwarts, and eventually when the other founders backed up Gryffindor, then Slytherin left Hogwarts. It's not surprising that a lot of the Slytherins feel the same way." Andrew's face seemed to lose its earlier happiness as his mouth set in a firm line. Ginny could feel everyone's anger in the air.

"So, what house are you hoping to be in Andrew?" Ginny asked, eager to change the subject.

"Well, I suppose I want to be in Gryffindor. I do hope that I am brave, courageous, and chivalrous. But I don't think I would mind being in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. After all, Ravenclaws are very smart, and Hufflepuffs are kind and loyal, so being in either of those houses wouldn't be bad either. At this point, actuallly, I'm hoping that we all end up in the same House," Andrew looked around at the other three and smiled.

"My entire family has been in Gryffindor, so I hope to be a Gryffindor too. I hope we all end up in the same house too though," Ginny replied._ I'm happy that I met them. They seem nice, and now I'll have friends before I walk into the halls of Hogwarts, just like I wanted. I can't wait to tell Tom_.

"But how do they decide what house you're in?" Colin asked.

"Well, my older brothers Fred and George told me we had to wrestle a troll, but something about that makes me not want to believe them." Ginny heard laughter from around her and saw that Andrew and Pallavi were both laughing openly at the terrified expression on Colin's face.

"Don't worry, Colin," Pallavi managed to gasp out after she calmed down. "They'd never put you in danger like that. Even many perfectly good adults would have a hard time taking on a troll and surviving. The teachers at Hogwarts would never put you through that. No, all you do is put on a magical hat, called the Sorting Hat, and the Hat will tell you which House you belong in. The Hat is very smart, and it's been around since the Founders' time." Ginny noted the relieved expression on Colin's face.

"Oh, now I feel quite dumb for thinking that," Colin replied sheepishly.

"It's okay, Colin. Since you're the first in your family to go to Hogwarts, everything must seem new to you. Besides, my brother Ron fell for it too, and he's grown up in the magical world. I was surprised when he seemed to truly believe them, but I didn't correct his misconception." Ginny said this to reassure Colin, and it seemed to work. Colin sat back with a smile, and the other two seemed amused at what Ginny had just said.

"Your brothers sound great," Andrew said, enthused. "I hope to meet them."

"I'm sure they'd love to hear you praise them, but please don't tell them that. As their sister, it is my duty to make sure their heads don't get too big. Can't have them walking around with inflated egos," Ginny joked, and Pallavi laughed.

"I know what you mean. I have a younger brother. He looks like an angel, but I swear he's the devil in disguise. He does everything he can in his power to make me miserable, but acts so perfect when there are other people around. Everyone tells him what an angel he is, and I think it's gotten to his head. Boys," she finished, shaking head. Ginny noticed Andrew and Colin pretending to look affronted, and this time it was she who burst out laughing.

"Well, we're not all that bad," Andrew said in a mock hurt voice. "Sisters are like that too. I'd know; I have three little sisters, and it's not peaches and cream, let me tell you that."

"Ok fine, let's admit that girls and boys have both good things and bad things about them," Colin intejected. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Ginny spent the rest of the train ride talking and joking with her new friends. She was laughing a lot, and she found that she could make them laugh a little too, which filled her with pride. They had learned more about each other and about their families. Pallavi had told them about her litte four-year-old brother and her parents, about how they had moved from India before her brother was born, when she herself had been three. Andrew had actually come all the way from the United States. His parents were British, had both attended Hogwarts, and wanted to send Andrew to Hogwarts because it was, in their words, "the best wizarding school in the world". _That explains his accent_, Ginny noted with realization, amazed that he had come here from across the ocean. Colin had described his family, Muggles except for himself and his younger brother Dennis, who he was sure could do magic as well. He had told them about the accidental magic he did when he was younger, and eagerly described his surprise when he got his letter. Ginny had told them about her family a little. They were impressed with her father's fascination with Muggle objects. Ginny didn't tell them about her father's hobby of enchanting Muggle objects though; she knew that it could potentially get him in trouble, even though her new friends seemed nice. She had also described her brothers a little, but not too much. She didn't tell her friends about them the way she had told Tom about them. _Well, it makes sense_, Ginny thought. _When I told Tom about my brothers, I was upset and he noticed that. Since I'm not upset about them now, there's no reason for me to complain about them_.

"Oh look, it's starting to become dark," Andrew pointed out, gesturing to the windows. "We should probably change into our robes now." Ginny gathered her robes, covering her ink, quill, and diary with them, and walked with Pallavi to change while the boys headed off in another direction.

"Why are you bringing your ink and diary with you?" Pallavi asked. Oh, was it so obvious? I hope the guys didn't notice. I wanted to tell Tom everything right now, but they don't know that, so it probably looks stupid and ridiculous. I hope they don't think I'm strange.

"Oh, I just wanted to write about the train ride in my diary. I enjoyed it, and I don't want to forget the details before I get the chance to write in it in Hogwarts."

"Oh ok. I hope they have changing stalls like fitting rooms though. It would be kinda weird to write in a bathroom stall. I wouldn't really want to change in one of those, now that I think about it," Pallavi said with a grimace. _That's true_, Ginny said, mirroring Pallavi's grimace. To Ginny's relief, there were separate stalls just for changing, and as soon as Ginny got in a stall, she sat down and started writing.

"_**Dear Tom, the train ride was so fun! I met three new people. They're all first-years, and they're really nice**_._** We're all friends now. I'm so happy!**_"

"_**Oh, that's great!**_" Tom replied. Ginny smiled at the sight of his neat script. _His handwriting is perfect too, just like him. It's not rough and jagged like other boys' handwriting. If his handwriting looks so perfect, I wonder what he looks like_. Ginny felt her cheeks burn, and knew her face must be a blotchy red. She shook herself out of her thoughts.

"_**Yeah, I know. Did you enjoy your first train ride? Talk to new people, make new friends?**_"

"_**Well**_," Tom's words came out slowly after a pause. "_**I wasn't really the talkative type, to be honest**_."

"_**Oh**_."

"_**So, are you almost at Hogwarts?**_" Tom asked. "_**It seems like a couple of hours have passed. The train should almost be there by now**_."

"_**Yes, we're almost there. I've actually just changed into my robes**_," Ginny lied, blushing as she realized that she should probably change. She turned around and quickly changed into her robes, feeling uncomfortable changing in the presence of the diary even though she knew Tom couldn't see her. Dressed in her black robes, Ginny picked up the quill again and wrote.

"_**I can't wait to be Sorted**_," she wrote eagerly. "_**I hope I will be in Gryffindor, like my family**_."

"_**So you only want to be in Gryffindor because your family is in it?**_"

"_**Well, that's not the only reason**_," Ginny wrote back, but she wrote it with hesitation. She would trust the Sorting Hat's decision. _It has been Sorting students for over a millenium_, Ginny thought. _Surely it'll put me in the House that's right for me_. But she felt a nagging feeling that she would disappoint her family if she didn't end up in Gryffindor like all of the rest of them._ I don't know why I feel this way. Nothing they ever said ever conveyed that they expected me to end up in Gryffindor_. But she still felt the nagging feeling all the same.

**"**_**Ah, but what house do you truly want to be in?**_**" **Tom seemed to have sensed Ginny's hesitation. Ginny held her quill over the page, but she wasn't sure how to reply. She realized that her burning desire to be in Gryffindor was based on the fact that her family was in Gryffindor, and she also came to the realization that her entire life, her individual identity had been based on her family. "_**Okay then Ginerva**_**," **Tom continued, aware that he had asked Ginny a crucial question about herself. **"**_**Let me ask you this: pretend that your family members weren't Gryffindors. Pretend that your family had a mixture of people from all four houses. Or even better yet, imagine that they never went to Hogwarts and didn't know what Houses were. Then what house would you want to be in?**_**" **Ginny pondered that question for a couple of minutes, mentally weighing the qualities of each House in her mind. After a while, the answer came to her.

"_**Well, I suppose then that I'd want to be in Ravenclaw. I mean, of course I want to be hardworking, which is the Hufflepuffs' main trait. I want to be courageous, to not shrink away in the face of danger like someone weak would do but to face it strongly. And I suppose I want to be ambitious like Slytherins are, even if I'm not willing to go to any end to achieve my goal. After all, people are complex. A person has more than one character trait, so a person can have traits from all four Houses in them. But I think being smart, wise, and clever would be most useful, because then you'd have the brainpower to accomplish what you want**_." As Ginny watched the words sink into the page, she felt relieved. She felt light. She had broken out of the 'I want to be like my family' shell, and she had thought about what she truly wanted. _I feel satisfied. I think I would've felt this way even if I eventually decided on Gryffindor, because it would've been entirely my own decision_. "_**Of course, I'm foolish about thinking about this so much. There's no point, because the Sorting Hat will put me where it will put me, and I can't do anything about it. The Hat will determine what my strongest personality traits are and place me accordingly, so it doesn't matter. I don't know why I care so much**_."

"_**But it's only natural Ginerva. And who said that what you wanted wasn't important? Even if the Sorting Hat is the thing that places you in the House that you'll be in, knowing what you want for yourself is never unimportant. Always remember that Ginerva. You sorted out what you wanted for yourself from what others wanted from you, and that is important. Even if it doesn't matter for House sorting, it will matter later in life**_."

"_**Thanks Tom. Hey, you were Sorted once, weren't you? What House were you in?**_" After several long minutes, a reply appeared on the page slowly, almost timidly.

"_**You might think badly of me if I tell you though. You might judge me. Ginerva, do you promise that you won't judge me? Do you promise that I will still be your friend?**_" _Oh poor Tom_, Ginny thought sadly. _He seems so unsure of himself_.

"_**Of course Tom. But why do you ask? You are you, and you are nice, and even if you were a Slytherin I wouldn't care**_." Realization dawned upon Ginny. "_**That's the House you were in, weren't you? Slytherin?**_"

"_**Yes**_."

"_**Oh Tom, why did you ever think I would hate you for it? The fact that you were in Slytherin doesn't change my opinion about you. You must be ambitious, which makes sense for someone as smart as you, and I guess that you always wanted to prove to the world what you could do. Prove to the world that background doesn't mean anything. But you're still kind, caring, and understanding. You're still Tom, and you're still my best friend!**_"

"_**Thank you Ginerva. I knew you were different from the rest. Other people hold prejudices, but not you. I should've realized that you would be above petty prejudices. I apologize for thinking otherwise, for imagining that a person like you would stoop to such prejudices**_."

"_**It's okay Tom. You must've known a lot of prejudiced people when you went to school. But what was the Sorting like? How did you feel leading up to the Sorting? What did it feel like when you finally got to try on the Hat?**_"

"_**I remember everyone else around me was anxious and nervous, but I wasn't nervous. I was excited. As soon as the teacher announced that the Sorting ceremony would begin, I was eager to find out what House I would be in, but I wasn't anxious. There were a lot of children in front of me, so I was feeling a little impatient. To pass the time, I looked out at the older students and wondered what it would be like to be in their Houses. I tried to see what I could learn about them simply by looking at them. It's something that I enjoy doing, because I consider myself a rather perceptive person. Eventually, my turn came. I remember my anticipation as the Sorting Hat was placed on my head. And then, the Hat spoke to me. It said words that only I could hear. The Hat spoke to nearly everyone, and only the person wearing the Hat could hear what it said. Only the House of the wearer was announced for everyone to hear. The Hat whispered me, 'You have a sharp mind. You are ambitious, and willing to prove yourself. The house for you is...' And then it announced my house for everyone to hear.**_"

"_**Wow, sounds amazing! I wonder what the Hat will say to me**_."

"_**Well dear Ginerva, you'll find out soon enough**_."

"_**That's true. But I'm not looking forward to the wait. There seem to be a lot of first-years, and as a Weasley, I'll be near the end if not at the end**_." Ginny felt the train halt to a stop. "_**The train has stopped. I'm about to see Hogwarts! I can't believe it's already happening**_."

"_**Well, I'm sure you'll love Hogwarts, especially when you first see it. It's beautiful**_," Tom stated, and even though he had written the words, Ginny could almost feel the immense emotion behind his last two simple words.

"_**I'll talk to you after dinner, Tom**_." Ginny closed her diary and walked out of the changing room. She followed some of the other kids off of the train.

"Firs' years, this way!" Ginny heard a loud, gruff voice yell. She turned and saw a very tall, rather wide man with a thick beard and unruly hair. She walked toward him, running into her friends from the train.

"Where were you?" Pallavi asked her. "I was looking all over for you!"

"Sorry," Ginny replied.

"It's fine," Pallavi replied. "Hey guys," she continued, addressing Andrew and Colin as well now. "Let's sit together on the boat ride. There are supposed to be four people to a boat, so it works out perfectly."

"Okay," Andrew replied with a smile. Ginny liked Andrew's happy, easygoing manner. His pleasant air was so contagious that Ginny couldn't help but smile when he was present. And judging from the manner in which Pallavi seemed to be smiling back at Andrew, she agreed too. Ginny felt her smile transform into a smirk. She'd definitely be asking Pallavi about it later. The first years walked over to the river. Four at a time, they got onto the boats, which set sail. Finally, Ginny, Pallavi, Andrew, and Colin found boats and they were sailing along the river as well.

"Watch out for the Giant Squid," Andrew laughed as they saw something move in the water ahead of them. Colin looked a little scared.

"A squid? It won't eat us, will it? It's friendly, right?"

"Don't worry Colin," Ginny and Pallavi replied together. The girls turned to each other and smiled. "The Squid is perfectly harmless," Ginny continued. Colin seemed relieved. They continued sailing, until they heard Colin exclaim.

"Wow! That must be Hogwarts! It's amazing. It's better than it looked in the pictures." Colin's voice sounded wonderstruck. Ginny turned, and her jaw dropped open. Even after seeing pictures of Hogwarts and hearing about its grand beauty, Ginny couldn't have imagined that it would look like this.

"You're right Colin," she breathed in amazement. "It is amazing."

**A.N. Hey guys! I know this chapter doesn't have as much Tom, but future chapters definitely will! I had wanted to have more of him in it, but I figured that the chapter was getting long and that this was a good stopping point. What do you think? Also, thank you to 'annajmac989', 'Starhazel', 'chini', 'ArgentNoelle', and anonymous reviewers 'Alice', 'Anna', and 'LeAnn' for reviewing my story so far.**


	10. Chapter 9

After his conversation with Ginny, Tom kept replaying the memory of his Sorting. It had always been one of his favorite memories, but he hadn't thought about it too much. After a period of time in the diary, Tom had stopped reflecting on the past because it reminded him of the pain of being trapped in the diary. Instead, he had focused more on the future and what _he_ would bring to the future. His conversation with Ginny had strengthened him even more. _It is probably because she admitted her real desire to be in Ravenclaw only to me_. Ginny's feeling behind the realization and the feel of secrecy was like a Healing Draught for him, and he had gladly basked in her feelings pouring through the diary, happy to finally get emotion from the girl. _She has no sense of individuality_, he thought. _She only admitted her true desire after a lot of urging from me to think about what she really wants. She seems to have been following in her family's shadow for her entire life. If the obligation to be like family members and follow in their footsteps is the consequence of having a family, then I am glad that I do not have a family. I would never want to live up to my filthy Muggle father. I am much different from him, much better than him, and I am happy that I get to create my own path_. His mind wandered back to his Sorting. He remembered the eager anticipation at finding out his House, the excitement at finding out where he'd belong, and the impatience that he felt since her was near the end of the line. Though he knew what he thought of himself, he remembered being curious about what the Hat thought of him. Tom fondly remembered the Hat's words to him. He hadn't told Ginny everything the Hat had said. "_Ah, Salazar Slytherin's heir is finally here_," it had started. "_You have a sharp mind. You're cunning too. You are ambitious, and are willing to prove yourself. Yes, you are the true picture of Slytherin and do indeed live up to Slytherin's hopes for an heir even though he'd have been displeased with your Muggle father. Your sharp mind, cunningness, and ambition will get you far in life. You will be great one day. The house for you is...' _Since that day, Tom had resolved to live up to the Sorting Hat's words. He swore that he would be great and he would complete Slytherin's noble work to help start a better future and make his ancestor proud. He clenched his fist in determination to continue that after he was out of the diary when he realized something strange. He was actually able to clench his fist! He looked down and noticed that his body's outline was more prominent. It had more of a shape, so that now he looked more like a ghost than a mere faint outline. _It must have been Ginerva's excitement about Hogwarts combined with her confession about her relevation_, Tom noted. _Thank you, dear Ginerva. You are bringing me back to power. Everything that is happening is because of you, and Lord Voldemort never forgets those who serve him well_. Tom wondered if Ginny was at the Sorting ceremony now. He wondered if she was feeling the same way as he was. He could feel a faint trickle of impatience and anticipation, and he figured that they must be coming from Ginny. He could feel her hands wrapped around the diary, clutching it tightly, and he was surprised that she had carried him with her into the Great Hall with her instead of stuffing him in her suitcases or even her robes. _She must want me to be with her when she goes up to the front and tries on the Hat. After all, I am her best friend, and she probably does not want to face this alone_. Tom felt somewhat pleased at that. He remembered the dinner he had eaten after his Sorting, remembering the taste of the juicy chicken and the flavor of apple tart melting on his tongue. Tom felt the diary open, snapping him out of his thoguhts, and felt Ginny scribbling furiously in it.

"_**I'm in Gryffindor. The Sorting Hat decided that I had a noble, courageous heart. But I don't think I'm noble or courageous at all!**_"

"_**Well, if the Sorting Hat said that, then he must see something you do not see. Besides, people often do not know their full capabilities until they are put in a situation that requires their capabilities. Tell me Ginerva, have you ever been put in a situation where you needed to be brave?**_" There was a pause as Ginny thought about the question.

"_**I've never been in danger, if that's what you mean, but if I can't face Harry confidently, if I panic at the sight of him and lose my nerves, then how can I face danger with courage and nobility?**_"

"_**But my dear Ginerva, confidence and courage are two completely different things. Confidence is belief in oneself, while courage is something that enables you to face difficulty, pain, or danger without fear. You do not necessarily need to believe in yourself to face danger. Sometimes, the thing that gives people courage is a lack of consideration for themselves in the face of something greater. Maybe you have that**_." _Courage_, Tom scoffed internally. _Courage is dangerous. More often than not, courage stems from a lack of self-preservation. Careless, reckless Gryffindors, so valiantly willing to put their lives in danger to fight an opponent, even when he is considerably stronger than them. In the beginning, when I first rose to power, I remember that it was the Gryffindors who fought me first. Of course, they all fell like a stack of cards. And that was bound to happen, seeing as they were facing me_. He thought about what he had just told Ginny. _Well, by the definition I gave her, I suppose I technically have courage because I never have fear of my opposition, but that is a result of careful planning and decision-making so that I always come out on top_._ Gryffindors do not have that clever cunningness that allows them to face danger with guaranteed victory_. He felt the quill scratching the paper, and Tom realized that he had missed part of what Ginny said.

_**"-so much Tom. You have no idea how much that reassured me. I was actually scared that the Sorting Hat didn't sort me correctly, that it just looked at me as another Weasley without seeing who I was, what I was like**_." Tom knew that it was impossible for that to happen. _The Hat was created by the Founders, and its job was to Sort students into Houses based on their individual traits, so it cannot fail_. But Tom realized that Ginny had just admitted that she really was scared of being seen as a mere extension of her family. _Ginerva has no idea how much she's helping me with each sentence of hers_.

"_**Do not worry, Ginerva. The Sorting Hat is created specifically to look for each student's individual characteristics to Sort them. That is its job, and it was created by the very Founders of Hogwarts to complete its job. Do you think a creation of the Founders can fail?**_"

"_**No, I suppose not**_."

"_**I am sure, Ginerva, that one day will come when you will prove, to yourself and others, that you do indeed belong in Gryffindor**_."

"_**Thanks Tom!**_"

"_**You are my friend, dear Ginerva. Of course I will be always be here for you**_." _I need to come up with something different to say soon. This line is starting to get a bit old. Though from the feeling I can feel through her hand on the diary, it's still just as effective on her_. "_**Now tell me, how was the feast?**_"

"_**Oh, it was amazing! All of my friends were Sorted into Gryffindor with me, so we all sat together and laughed and talked and had a good time. We have our own little group now. It's Pallavi, Colin, Andrew, and I**_."

"_**What are their last names? I am curious to see if I knew any of their grandparents**_."

"_**Wow, that's right, I forgot how old you were! Well, Andrew's last name is Williams, and Pallavi's last name is Patil. Colin's last name is Creevy, but you won't know his grandparents since he's Muggleborn**_." _She is associating with Muggleborns?_ Tom shook his head. _Of course she is. She's a Weasley, part of the biggest blood traiter family there is_. _I remember the Williams and the Patils being big blood traitor families too. I'm actually quite surprised that Ginny seemed not to know them before the train ride because when I was at school, the Weasleys were friends with the Williams and the Patils. They were all prominent, rich pure blood families. Maybe their friendship deteriorated in correlation with the Weasleys' wealth. From all of Ginny's complaining, it seems as if the Weasleys no longer retain their earlier wealth. Not surprising, since they always had huge families, and Septimus Weasley wasn't the brightest_.

"_**Yes, I've heard of them. I remember that they were in my year at Hogwawrts**__**.**_"

"_**Were you guys friends?**_" _Wow, I can't believe that I can feel her eagerness. She must be very eager, as if the prospect of me beng friends with them is actually interesting and exciting. I would never associate myself with blood traitors if I could, but even that notwithstanding, how does it matter to her? How could she really use that information? _He saw a great potential for pulling out the pity card, however. _I hate that I, of all people, have to not only accept pity but seek it. Lord Voldemort, reduced to accepting pity? After I gain my own body and am alive, I will torture Harry Potter for doing this to me. I will find out how he did what he did, and then I will kill him. Then no one can defeat me_.

"_**No**_," Tom replied. He tried to hold back his thoughts, and then realized something. _Wait a minute. I am always trying to hold back my true thoughts from Ginny with the fear that she will either read them in the diary or that she will feel them. So if I purposely try to feel a certain way and project those feelings, then maybe she can pick up on my feelings the way I can pick up on hers_. He decided to try it out. "_**No, we were not friends. I had wanted to be friends with them, but they had never liked me. I always saw them casting dirty looks at my robes, so I think it was because I was poor. I think they also hated me because I was a Slytherin.**_" Tom tried to imagine that he was talking to Ginny in person, and pictured himself putting on an air of deep sorrow at the thought of being alone and not accepted. It was quite difficult since he had to rely entirely on his ability to fake emotions because of his lack of ability to use facial expressions. He was having a hard time suppressing his anger at not being accepted. _They have no right to not accept me. Me, Lord Voldemort! No, no, focus. Focus_. He waited tensely, unsure of what Ginny had picked up, or if she had picked up anything at all. Sure enough however, he could feel a strong thread of sadness and sympathy wrapping around him.

"_**Oh, I'm sorry Tom! I understand how you feel. I think it's the same for me. I've seen the looks of disgust some people give my hand-me-down robes and books. The only difference is that I get resentment from the Slytherins simply because I'm a Gryffindor.**_" _You're so dramatic Ginerva_, Tom thought. _At least you only get resentment from one house. I got it from three houses. The Slytherins were the only ones I could use until my fifth year, when I became Prefect and my looks charmed all those stupid girls. Of course, my looks were a good asset to have because they served to compound my already angelic image. I mean, after all, people like Crabbe or Goyle could never look angelic_.

"_**Perhaps the similarities in our lives allow us to understand each other so well. You understand me, and I understand you. I feel like I can trust you. Do you trust me, Ginerva?**_"

"_**Of course I trust you Tom! You're the best friend I've ever had. You understand me so well. I feel so comfortable talking to you. Sometimes I don't even feel this comfortable around myself. And of course you can trust me Tom! You have no idea how much you've done for me, and I hope that I can do the same for you in any way I can**_."

"_**Your friendship means so much to me. It is my beacon of light in my dark times. Please, just promise me one thing**_."

"_**Anything, Tom**_."

"_**Promise me that you'll never stop writing in the diary. Please, just promise me that. Promise that you'll never leave me**_."

"_**I promise, Tom. I promise.**_" Tom didn't have to use Legillimency to tell that she said this with honest, pure conviction. But Tom could also feel something else. Hesitation. He felt hesitation, as if Ginny wanted to say something but was trying to hold back. "_**It's just that**_"... Ginny trailed off.

"_**What? You can tell me Ginerva, don't be scared**_."

"_**Will you ever leave me?**_" Tom was reminded of the fact that she was still a timid eleven-year-old girl.

"_**Of course not. How could you think such a thing? How could you think that I would do something so preposterous as abandon you? I promise you, Ginerva, that I'll never leave you. I will be by your side, with you until the end**_."

"_**Thank you, Tom**_." Tom could feel her delight and sheer happiness, enveloping him in the diary. Her heart seemed to be welling with emotion, and it poured into the diary, threatening to suffocate and drown Tom in its sheer strength. At the same time, however, Tom could feel himself getting stronger, as if Ginny's emotions were his own personal Elixir of Life. _I don't need that Sorcerer's Stone when I have Ginny_, he thought. Tom let the emotions swallow him up, basking in its strength and absorbing it as his own. He heard a faint yawn that seemed to come from outside.

"_**Tom, I'm really, really sorry, but it's late. I think I'm going to sleep. But I'll talk to you tomorrow, I promise. Good night, Tom**_." Tom could feel Ginny about to close the diary, but he stopped her.

"_**Wait**_," Tom hurriedly wrote. "_**Please, don't close me just yet. Could you fall asleep while holding me open? I think I'll find it comforting**_." _I feel quite strong. I think I may be able to attempt possessing her_.

"_**Of course, Tom. As a matter of fact, I think I'll feel good too**_." As Tom felt Ginny rest the diary on herself, he pictured himself "jumping" from the diary, and found himself actually leaving the diary and landing in Ginny's mind. As Tom came to his new surroundings, Ginny's eyes shut and she slumped forward. She lay there, still.

**A.N. Hey guys, sorry it's been so long. This will probably be a trend b/c high school takes up a lot of time and my classes + extracurriculars make me very busy, but I'll do my best. As always, feedback is appreciated!**


	11. Chapter 10

**A.N. Because this is showing Tom possessing Ginny for the first time, I have to break the POV pattern! Sorry, can't adhere perfectly! **

Tom opened Ginny's eyes and stood up, nearly falling over. The last time he had been in a body, he'd been in the body of a 16-year-old boy, and even then he had been rather tall for his age. Now though, he had to balance using the legs of an 11-year-old. He flexed Ginny's fingers and raised her hand in front of her face, surprised at the limiter range of motion. He missed his long arms and lean, bony fingers, trying in vain to stretch Ginny's arms and fingers in order to move to the extent that he was used to. He felt as if he was trapped in clothing too tight for himself. _Who would have believed that the great Lord Voldemort is now confined here in the shell of a mere, small, weak, girl?_ He asked himself bitterly. But he stopped himself. _Patience Tom, patience_, he told himself. _Good things will come to those who pursue their goals tirelessly. And there is no chance of failure with this plan. Ginerva was the perfect person to come across this diary. There is practically no chance of me getting turned in to authority because she is too emotionally attached to me now, and she is all too willing to pour her soul out to me. With a bit of coaxing on my part, by pretending to be actually interested in all of her foolish, mindless complaints and worries, I will be able to thrive on her soul and use her to bring myself to life. _

Tom looked around and realized that he was getting an exclusive look into the girl's dormitory. _Well, _he thought wryly. _I guess I will be able to satisfy this curiosity as well while I am at it_. He took in the clutter of the dormitory, surprised at how messy it was. Clothes were strewn everywhere, and the makeup items - various-sized tubes and colorful palettes - sat in cluttered piles. Ginny's nose wrinkled as Tom looked at the makeup in disgust. _Good makeup is one thing, but I swear, even when I went to school, half the girls looked like clowns with how heavy their makeup was. Though I can see why they would want to hide their faces underneath all that gunk_. He decided to try walking now. Tom took a tentative step toward, adjusting and getting a feel for his balance again, like a baby learning to walk. _Makes sense since I am basically being reborn_, Tom thought to himself. Tom took some slow, quiet steps back and forth, making an effort to muffle his footsteps.

After pacing back and forth several times, Tom was able to walk normally, to some extent. He started walking around the dormitory when he passed a mirror, flinching in surprise at the face staring back at him. He walked closer to the mirror and stared. Tom knew that the girl he'd posses would be young, but he was taken aback by how innocent she looked. He noted he eyes, pools of melted milk chocolate, which gazed back at him wide with surprise. His own eyes, he remembered, were dark brown, more like cold bitter dark chocolate, in contrast to her warm ones. Her eyes complimented her light orange freckles that dotted her face, and her freckles matched her orange hair. _"Redheads" do not truly have red hair, _Tom thought in annoyance_. Their hair is orange. Red is the color of blood. Now that is a true red. A wonderful red_. Tom noticed his annoyance show through Ginny's facial expressions of irritation, which were so comical that Tom couldn't help but laughed. The reflection laughed as well, and Tom couldn't help but think that Ginny looked a lot less boring and plain when she laughed. However, it didnt distract from her stature, which still surprised him. Her short height, combined with her thinness, from her bony arms to her knobby knees, made her look... _Vulnerable_, he thought. _She seems so delicate, so breakable. She does not even look well-fed. I will have to make sure that she eats enough now that she is at Hogwarts. She will need to be strong if I am to draw from her life force and become strong myself_. Tom felt Ginny's stomach growl as he thought this, as if it wasn't used to having enough to eat. Tom remembered the feeling all too well, his mind flashing back to his days at the orphanage. _Ginerva must have not gotten enough to eat at home_, he thought. _I am not surprised though. If her brothers are really the pigs she makes them out to be, then they would eat all the food_. He remembered how at the orphanage, the other kids would steal his share of the food, leaving him to become scrawny until he could do magic to defend himself. He had starved all those years because of those kids, so of course he took his revenge when he had the ability to do so.

All of a sudden, Tom felt Ginny's body collapse, finally being unable to bear the burden of housing two souls at once. He grabbed the mirror to keep himself from falling, but that made a little noise, causing some of Ginny's dorm mates to stir. Tom decided he'd practiced possessing Ginny enough for one night. He crept his way slowly back to Ginny's bed, sat down, and picked up his diary. He imagined himself going back into the diary. Entering his diary was far easier than coming out of it, unsurprisingly. Back in the diary, Tom smirked. _I am able to possess and control her already. It took effort and concentration though, far too much to get anything done soon. Besides, it would not be right to take action too quickly anyway. But it will take more effort to actually open the Chamber, so I need to become better at possessing Ginerva. I need to get her to spill more secrets, pour out more of her soul into me. I have to become stronger. But I am getting there_. As he thought this though, he kept seeing those light freckles, those thin arms and knees, that pale face, and that thick, short, curly orange hair. But most of all, he saw those warm brown eyes, staring back at him wide open. _So vulnerable. So breakable_. He felt a pang of...something...but he pushed it aside. I must be imagining things, Tom thought. I need to rest and refocus so that I can plan my next move.

**A.N. Sorry for such a long wait! I just was soooo busy with school. And I'm not sure if this chapter is any good, but for those who still remember the story, I promise I'll make it up to you guys with the next chapter! **


	12. Chapter 11

Ginny woke up the next morning feeling tired. _I slept comfortably last night, more comfortably than I sleep on my lumpy bed at home. So why do I feel tired? And my body actually feels wide awake. It is just my mind_. Sure enough, Gimny's head seemed to spin a bit when she got up, as if her head had been weighed down with an invisible load. _And I am going to have classes today. Ron told me they were really hard. But I looked at the books, and I managed to figure out a few of the spells. So at least the first day shouldn't be so hard_. Feeling herself smile at the thought, Ginny glanced over at the clock. 8:05. _Oh no, if I don't hurry up, I won't have time to eat breakfast and get my schedule for my classes!_ She hastily stuffed her books into her bag, regretting not getting her bag ready the night before, and ran out of her dorm, past the fireplace of the warm, glowing fireplace that cast a bright glow on her warm hair and freckles, and out through the portrait hole, not noticing a small, nondescript, black book that she had neglected to include with her school books. The book sat there, unaware of its surroundings - unaware, really, of most sense of time, able to only wait for someone to write in it, write to the piece of the torn soul inside of it.

Ginny stumbled into the Great Hall, out of breath. She hastily scanned the Gryffindor table, and found Pallavi, Colin, and Andrew seated near the middle. Pallavi had placed her schoolbag on the seat next to her, and Ginny walked over hesitantly, preparing herself to ask who the raven-haired girl was saving the seat for, but three pairs of eyes snapped to meet hers, and Ginny registered Pallavi's voice before she could open her mouth.

"Hey Ginny, I saved this seat for you. Glad you found it," she said with a bright smile.

"You let me sleep in," Ginny said, and was surprised to find her words laced with an accusatory tone. She sounded harsher than she had meant to.

"I'm so sorry," Pallavi replied, sounding guilty and apologetic. "I tried shaking you awake, so that we could go down to breakfast together, but you slept like a rock." _That's surprising_, Ginny thought. _I am usually such a light sleeper, woken easily by sounds or by a light touch. I should've woken if Pallavi shook me. Besides, the sounds of the other girls moving so close by themselves should've woken me._ She heard Pallavi continue, and tuned back in. "I would've waited for you to wake up, but today was the first day, and I wanted to get my schedule and have enough time to eat and find my classes, and I'm _so_ not a morning person, so it was hard enough for me to get ready on time. I feel bad now," Pallavi said dejectedly.

"That's okay," Ginny replied cheerfully, pleased that Pallavi had at least tried to wake her up. Only friends did that, she knew, and while all the Gryffindor girls seemed friendly so far, she could sense that a special friendship with Pallavi would build. "I'll try to wake up earlier tomorrow. It's hard to adjust, after all." Ginny happily sat down. Professor McGonagall walked over and handed Ginny her schedule. Andrew and Colin got up, and three heads were now peering over her shoulder, trying to get a glimpse of her schedule.

"Hey, you and I have Charms together," Colin remarked eagerly. "And we all share Defense Against the Dark Arts, but nothing else."

"You also share History of Magic and Herbology with me and Pallavi," Andrew added. "But I think that's it."

"Too bad you and Colin don't share all your classes with me like Andrew," Pallavi said with a frown, but her voice betrayed a flicker of happiness, and Ginny had a feeling she knew its cause. She attempted not to let her face betray anything, but she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Pallavi, feeling smug when her friend's olive cheeks lightly flushed red.

"That would've been nice, but we can always hang out, the four of us, after classes," Andrew remarked. Ginny opened her mouth to suggest that they could help each other with homework, but she was interrupted by the yell of a very familiar voice. Ginny whipped her head around, trying to find the source of her mother's voice.

"-STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE-" Ginny then found it. A red letter was jumping on the table many seats down, and Ginny saw the flaming red hair that had almost disappeared under the table. _Ha, poor Ron, hiding in shame_, Ginny thought. _I'm glad he and Harry are okay though. I was so worried about them. They looked to be in pretty bad condition when they arrived. I want to ask them what happened. Speaking of Harry though_...Ginny noticed the bespectacled boy next to Ron, looking as if he wanted to disappear, and Ginny felt sorry for him. She knew that her mother adored Harry, but she couldn't help but feel bad that he was embarrassed because of her. Suddenly, the loud sound stopped, and Ginny realized that she had tuned out her mother's entire tirade. _Oh well, it's not like it was for me anyway_. Ginny saw Harry push his porridge away, an expression of guilt washing over his face. _He's so sweet_, Ginny couldn't help think. _He feels bad for my parents because of their troubles from the car_.

"C'mon, let's go to Charms," Colin said to Ginny standing up, shaking Ginny from her reverie. She turned her head to find Pallavi smirking at her, raising an eyebrow to mirror Ginny's previous expression. Ginny felt herself blush at being caught so blatantly staring.

"What? Already?"Ginny asked, surprised. "I've barely eaten with all the commotion!" She looked down at her plate of food, which had eggs and potatoes, and then shocked her friends by proceeding to shovel all of it down her throat at a remarkable speed. She saw them staring at her open-mouthed, shocked.

"Six brothers," Ginny offered as way of explanation. "When they hog all the food, you have to learn to eat at a timely pace." Pallavi and Andrew scoff at the word 'timely', and Ginny heard Andrew mutter "a little too timely". Ginny pretended to throw her fork at his head, and Colin laughed. Done with her food, Ginny got up. "Okay, let's go Colin." She and Colin walked to Charms, while she saw Pallavi and Andrew get up and walk in the opposite direction to whatever class they had first. _They'd make a cute couple_, Ginny thought. _She has better luck than me, anyhow. I've barely talked to Harry at all_. She heard Colin saying something to her though, so she tuned in to his words, finding herself laughing and being happy as she headed to class.

Charms was easy. Ginny had been surprised at Professor Flitwick's height, amazed that he actually had to stand on a stack of books just to be visible. They worked on the Levitation spell, which Ginny had already mastered. A smile of triumph graced her face as she made her quill float using the 'swish-and-flick' motion needed, being the first to get it while the rest of the class was still struggling.

"Excellent job! Five points to Gryffindor," Professor Flitwick, the Charms professor, exclaimed excitedly, earning her looks of admiration from fellow Gryffindors while she got glares of resentment from the Slytherins. Ginny resisted the urge to stick her tongues out at them. _I'm glad I worked on the spell at home_, she thought, pleased with herself. _Now I look smart. I might be able to become top of my class! It feels good to feel smart. Good thing Tom encouraged me to get ahead and helped me get the spell right._ _Or else I would've been struggling with my classmates. _She stopped cold at that thought, suddenly realizing something. Ginny searched through her bag, but didn't find what she was looking for. Oh no! I've left Tom behind! She briefly wondered if she had somehow dropped the precious diary, but realized that she never brought it with her to begin with. I think I left him on my desk! Ginny felt herself panic, and tried to calm herself down. It's not like I would've been able to write in the diary, but I'm still surprised that I forgot all about him. I completely neglected Tom today - he didn't even cross my mind. Her mind returned to Charms when she felt a tug at her robe sleeves.

"Hey Ginny, do you think you could help me with the spell? I'm struggling with it a bit..." Colin trailed off sheepishly, stealing a glance at his charred, burned quill, the result of his clumsy wandwork. Ginny bit back a giggle, not wanting to laugh at her poor friend, and proceeded to advise him on the correct method of casting the spell.

"Your wand movement should come from your wrist, not your entire arm," Ginny started, recalling Tom's advice. "It should be a flicking motion, like this," she continued, and followed with a demonstration. "The wrist motion is essential." She folded her arms and gestured for Colin to give it a try. "Go on." Colin tried it and succeeded. His gaze trailed upwards as his quill was levitated higher and higher, and then he turned to Ginny, beaming.

"Thanks, Ginny! You're really smart, and helpful!" He let the quill drop, and then he took his camera from around his neck - a camera that Ginny had only now just noticed - and handed it to her. "Can you take a picture of me levitating the quill?" He asked eagerly. Ginny couldn't hold back a laugh at his request, never having met someone so eager about photographing everything. She couldn't let him down though.

"Sure," she said, still laughing good-naturedly, as she took the picture of him perfectly executing the spell.

"I meant to take pictures at breakfast today," Colin told her. "But I didn't have time. I was too caught up in the wonder of Hogwarts." Ginny nodded, finding herself silently agreeing with Colin. Even she had been amazed by Hogwarts. From the dynamic portraits to the levitating candles and enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall to the delectable food, even Ginny had been amazed by the magic of Hogwarts. She could only imagine how overwhelming it must've been for Colin, who was a Muggleborn and completely new to magic in general, let alone that at Hogwarts.

"All right," Professor Flitwick said. "That's it for today. Good job to those who got the spell. For those who didn't, your homework is to practice it for tomorrow. I'll be assessing you on your ability to perform the charm." His statement was greeted by groans from most of the class, but Ginny just smiled, knowing that she was exempt, and that even if she was tested, she would be eager to show off her ability. "Class dismissed."

Ginny had History of Magic and Herbology after that, and all she could think about by the time those two classes were over was how grateful she was to have Pallavi and Andrew to save her from _dying_ of utter boredom. The three of them grimaced at the feet of essays that they were already assigned.

Transfiguration was Ginny's first class without any of her friends. Unfortunately, it was one of the classes she shared with the Slytherins. Ginny was glad that Professor McGonagall taught Transfiguration, for while the professor seemed strict, telling off two students who were late, she seemed fair, giving both houses equal opportunities to earn points throughout class - and docked points from both houses just as much when kids talked during her lesson. Ginny succeeded in transfiguring her match into a pin quite quickly, but she hadn't been first. She hadn't practiced that spell in a few weeks, and she found Transfiguration a little trickier than other subjects like Charms, so she wasn't too surprised at not being first, but her competitive nature took over. Ginny was resentful of the fact that a Slytherin had transfigured the match first, and vowed to practice and look ahead in her books so that she could defeat him in the future. Living with six older brothers had honed her competitive side, and Ginny wouldn't let a Slytherin, of all people, best her in anything. Here, she had the opportunity to shine, to rise above her status due to money. _I vow not to waste this opportunity to shine_, Ginny told herself fiercely. However, her determined dreaming was cut short by the taunts of the cruel Slytherins.

"Bet you thought you were so smart, didn't you?" sneered a dark-haired boy with an expression that was sour like spoilt milk. His grimace twisted his features, which were already oddly disproportionate, making him look uglier than normal. "Take that, you _poor, blood-traitor_ _Weasley_!" Still being the shy, awkward eleven-year-old, Ginny blushed beet red, and struggled to come up with a retort.

"I - I am smart!" she managed, though she sounded clearly embarrassed. "I earned my house many points today, maybe more than you. So take that!" Ginny turned away as they stared her down though, her face heating up further. She wished she had the courage to stare them down until they melted in a pool of apprehension, but as of right now she seemed to be the one melting in that pool.

"Ten points from Slytherin for rude, improper language, Mr. Goyle," Professor McGonagall said sternly. Next time I hear language like that from you again, it'll be detention. Such rudeness will not be tolerated here. This is a message for all of you," she said, looking around at everyone. But Ginny was still fuming. _I hate these stupid Slytherins_, Ginny thought venomously. _They are so evil and cruel. Cruelty defines a Slytherin_. But then she thought of the diary that she had left behind on her desk, and she felt guilty again. Not only had she forgotten the diary on her desk, but now she had also forgotten that Tom, as a Slytherin, went against her preconceptions of Slytherins and was one of the nicest people she knew. _I keep forgetting all about Tom_, Ginny thought, feeling ashamed. _I'm such a bad friend. I've always learned that good friends don't forget about old friends just because they make new ones, and I feel like that's exactly what I'm doing_.

"All right, class dismissed," Professor McGonagall announced. "And don't forget to write a three foot essay on the reading from the first chapter of your book, _A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration_. It's due by the end of the week." _That's now ten feet of essays that I have to write by the end of the week, Ginny grimaced. And I haven't even gone to all my classes yet. Plus, school has just started. I can only imagine how much worse it'll get later_. Ginny walked out of class absentmindedly, grateful for the lunch break before the last two classes of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. At lunch, she sat with Pallavi, Andrew, and Colin. Ginny had tried to start a conversation with some of her classmates, but while they were nice, she knew that there wasn't much of a budding friendship there. She didn't mind. She was satisfied with her perfect group of four. They talked about their classes and classmates while enjoying the deliciously delectable lunch in front of them. Ginny didn't hesitate to pile potatoes, beans, chicken, and tart on her plate, and her friends barely batted an eyelid, used to her eating habits after breakfast.

Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts were a blur since she kept waiting for classes to be over, though she couldn't help notice the good-looking DADA professor, Professor Lockhart. His golden, wavy locks glistened in the light, extending slightly past his ears. His sunny complexion was perfecly smooth, his eyes a light shade of blue, like a clear sky on a sunny day, and when he smiled, his teeth shone pearly white. All in all, Ginny determined that not only were his facial features pleasing, but his appearance radiated honest happiness, like a walking ray of sunshine. She supposed that was why so many ladies were attracted to him, because from their first lesson, she determined that he was, really, a vain bubblehead. He gave them a quiz on their first day, and what upset Ginny and lowered her opinion of the widely-loved professor was the fact that the quiz was very Lockhart-centered. Clearly, her professor would value teaching his students his life story over any useful fighting skills. Ginny supposed that it wouldn't matter if she failed the subject, at least until the students got a competent teacher. Once Lockhart dismissed class, Ginny heaved a sigh. She left quickly, all but running to get to her dormitory. Once there, she took out her quill and ink hurriedly and jabbed the quill into the paper in a rush to write,

"_**Oh Tom, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!**_" Ginny practically carved into the paper.

"_**What can you possibly have to be sorry about, my dear Ginerva?**_" Tom asked back, obviously bemused.

"_**Please don't be mad at me Tom**_" -

"_**I could never be angry with you Ginerva, no matter what**_," Tom rushed back before Ginny could even finish her sentence.

"_**Thank you Tom, but I feel guilty, because I left you behind when I went to classes today**_." Ginny waited nervously, hoping he wouldn't be angry with her.

"_**Oh, sweet Ginerva, that is no reason to feel upset and guilty. You had classes to go to. You had books to carry. Taking me along wasn't a priority**_," Tom tried to assure her. "_**Besides, I'm sure that after your first day, you see that you probably wouldn't even have time to write to me.**_"

"_**Yes Tom, I realize that. However, what really bothered me was the fact that I left you on my desk because I forgot that I even had you. When I realized that, it felt as if I'd forgotten you**_."

"_**Oh Ginerva, I didn't realize that you cared so much for me. I'm flattered, truly I am**_."

"_**It's not flattery Tom. You're such a good friend. Kind, supportive, a good listener, patient - especially for a Slytherin**__._" Ginny cringed as soon as she realized what she wrote. "_**I'm sorry Tom, I didn't mean that. That sounded rude, I know**_."

"_**That's okay, Ginerva**_," Tom replied dutifully, but the words came out slower, and Ginny could swear that she felt apprehension and slight hurt in his reply.

"_**That only came out because a Slytherin insulted me in Transfiguration today. He transfigured his match into a pin before I did, and he was rude about it, calling me a 'poor blood-traitor'. I was angry at him, and I had thought to myself that all Slytherins were like that - rude, cruel, cold-hearted. Then I remembered that you weren't like that, and I felt bad for thinking that. But that's why those words came out. I'm sorry.**_"

"_**I understand now why you said your earlier words, Ginerva. However, I am wounded. You wound me, Ginerva**_." Ginny closed her eyes, feeling so guilty for being nothing but a bad friend to Tom all day, while he was being nothing but patient and understanding. Tom was still replying. "_**You lumped me in with the rest. It is times like these when I feel ashamed of being a Slytherin. I merely am ambitious, a little thirsty for victory in life, but I am punished for these traits by having people judge me and group me in with the other, crueler Slytherins, by having people assume that I am a bad person**_."

"_**No Tom, no, it's not like that at all!**_" Ginny replied back, feeling worse at the thought that others thought badly of Tom, that others were judgmental of him just because of his House and failed to see his goodness, and that she had come off looking like those people. She had to make him see that she wasn't like those people at all.

"_**But Ginerva, you essentially said that I was good 'for a Slytherin'. Does that imply that I am not good otherwise? Please Ginerva, be completely honest with me. Don't be afraid to tell me if that's the truth - please, just tell me how I can be a better person if you feel that I am bad when compared to three fourths of the Hogwarts population.**_"

"_**No, Tom**_," Ginny replied firmly. "_**You are one of the best people I know. You're one of the people I trust the most, and I think I've told you more than I have ever told any of my friends and family. Seriously. Just never stop being yourself, being the way you are.**_" Ginny remembered what she had meant to say before she accidently was mean to Tom.

"_**Oh. I'm happy to hear that Ginerva. Your words have made my day. You have no idea how long I've hoped to hear someone who could ever think even half as high of me.**_"

"_**Well, I speak the truth. And anyway, my original point had been that I was worried because I forgot that you were a Slytherin when I had thought badly of Slytherins during Transfiguration. I felt like I was forgetting all about you.**_"

"_**Oh, don't worry about that Ginerva. You clearly didn't forget me. I'm confident that we are friends now, right?**_"

"_**Of course, Tom! Best friends!**_"

"_**Well, it was your first day today. It takes time getting used to the school, classes, and workload. You just feel like you are forgetting so much because you are overwhelmed. Once you adjust, you will forget less**_."

"_**Thanks Tom. And now I'm sure that I won't forget you anytime soon. Or ever**_."

"_**Thank you dear Ginerva. Now, tell me about your classes. I'm sure you have a lot of tales to share, and I'm curious to see how times have changed. It's been a while since I've been to school, you see, and I miss it**_."

"_**Oh, it was amazing! Classes were so fun, especially Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions! I'm also excited for Astronomy, even though I haven't had it yet. Charms was easy, though I'm sure looking through the book did help. Thanks for that advice Tom**_. "

"_**I'm glad my advice helped you, Ginerva**_."

"_**Yeah! I don't understand why others would hate to do it. I mean, it is magic, something that we will actually use in our lives and that we will need to know. Admittedly, I was a bigger fan of those subjects where we actually did stuff. I hated History of Magic, since it was just sitting in class listening to a ghost teaching us about the boring past. Nothing to do there. And I didn't even like Herbology, just because I don't like plants**_."

"_**Oh. Well, I wasn't a huge fan of those two subjects either, I'll admit. But what did you think of Defense Against the Dark Arts?**_"

"_**Oh, that class**_," Ginny replied flippantly. "_**The class seems very interesting, and is probably the most intense, but you'd never be able to tell from the teacher. The bloke who teaches DADA is such a vain, self-centered idiot. Granted, he's good-looking, which is a nice change for the eye, and he has done a lot, but he seems bent on teaching us about himself and his great deeds than he does about actual Defense**_."

"_**That's a shame. Seems like a waste of such a good subject**_."

"_**I know**_!"

"_**So, what did you think of the difficulty of the classes?**_" Tom asked.

"_**Herbology and History of Magic were difficult because they were so boring, I won't bother with DADA. Potions is tricky since it requires such careful attention to detail and wasn't something I got to practice at home. Charms was easy, and Transfiguration was trickier. I'll work at it though. I don't want to be bested by that cruel Slytherin again.**_"

"_**I totally agree. It would be very satisfying to demonstrate intellectual prowess against the idiots who dared to insult someone as sweet as you. I was so competitive when I was your age, and fools like the one you describe we're part of the reason why**_." Ginny was slightly puzzled. Tom seemed to be reminiscing somewhat, and he seemed angry. Was it because...

"_**Were people mean to you when you were younger, Tom?**_" she asked. Ginny was met with the longest silence she'd ever had from Tom. She seemed to have hit upon something personal.

"_**Like you wouldn't imagine**_," came Tom's reply. As if he caught a mistake, he quickly tried to backtrack. "_**I didn't mean for that to come out.**_"

"_**People bullied you, Tom? What did they say to you? How could they have been mean and said cruel things about a person as perfect as you?**_" Ginny was shocked. "_**If you don't mind me asking.**_"

"_**Well, I suppose I can tell you, since I think it will help you feel better. I am far from perfect, but I'm glad that you think highly of me. But the kids at the orphanage I used to live at surely disagreed. They never hesitated to call me a freak, especially when they realized I could do magic.**_" Ginny was stunned. People had called _Tom_ a freak?

"_**Oh Tom, I'm so sorry! People were mean. I hope you didn't listen to them. You are not a freak. People just feel the need to be mean, as if they get paid for it.**_"

"_**I know that now, but at the time it made me feel insecure about myself. I always told myself that I was special, that there was a reason I was different from the others, but it wasn't until Hogwarts that I truly believed it**_."

"_**I'm sorry that you had to wait eleven years until you realized that. But wait, if they made fun of you because of your magic, then they were Muggles, right?**_"

"_**Yes. I**_"... Tom trailed off, as if hesitant to reveal more, but he finished anyway. "_**I grew up in a Muggle orphanage**_. _**And once I realized that there were others like me, I couldn't help but feel a dislike for Muggles because of their prejudice, close-mindedness, and unwillingness to accept those who are different**_."

"_**Well, of course you did. It's only natural that you do. I think they were just scared of your talent and abilities. They didn't like feeling insecure, and so took it out on you. Did you ay least have any friends at the orphanage who could do magic, or at least thought it was cool?**_"

"_**No, I didn't. I didn't know there were others like me until Dumbledore came to the orphanage to tell me who I was and what Hogwarts was. None of the children had cared much for kindness towards me. The adults there, our guardians," **_Ginny swore she could feel the bitter sarcasm at the last word "_**didn't care for us, mostly. They had a few favorites, but i wasn't one of them.**_ _**Until Hogwarts, I had been alone. Completely alone.**_" The last two words had a chilling effect on Ginny. _Completely alone?_ Ginny couldn't imagine that. It was true, she hadn't had any friends before Hogwarts, but she had a family. _And I was blessed with a big family,_ Ginny thought gratefully. She had sometimes wished for a smaller family, wondering why her parents had so many kids, especially if they couldn't afford them, but she knew that it was many times better than having no family, no source of support at all, like Tom. Talking to Tom made her realize how lucky she was.

"_**Well, I'm here now**_," Ginny wrote back fiercely, almost protectively, in her own weird way. "_**I'll always be there for you, no matter what. I'll talk to you whenever you want, and you can share whatever you want with me, because I'll listen. You aren't alone anymore.**_"

"_**Thank you Ginerva. I appreciate your support. It's all I have. You truly are my best friend. I trust you, and I hope you can trust me as much**_."

"_**Of course I trust you Tom. You're my first real friend. I'm glad we have each other.**_" Before she could see if Tom would reply, Ginny felt someone poke her sides, yelping and leaping out of her chair as she was startled.

"Hey, how long are you going to keep writing in your journal?" Pallavi asked in mock impatience. "I've been here for the past five minutes, hoping you would finish soon."

"Just about done," Ginny replied, nervous as to whether Pallavi had noticed her diary's strangeness. Luckily, Pallavi didn't say anything, instead going over to sit on her bed."

"Hey Tom, my friend is here. She's waiting for me. Gotta go, okay? Sorry, I don't want to stop writing and I don't want to leave you, but I don't want her asking questions. Bye!" Ginny closed her diary before she could see Tom's reply.

"_**Bye, my dear Ginerva," **_he had written._** I'm so glad I have a wonderful, amazing friend like you.**_"


End file.
